


A Family Affair

by halestrom



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Self-Indulgent, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:36:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24383668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halestrom/pseuds/halestrom
Summary: “Do you want to run that by us again?”Rodney saw the wince Woolsey tried to hide and he didn’t blame the man. It was insane! It was a nightmare. It was a wraith hive outside their front door. There was nothing rational about this. And judging by the looks around the table, including the man himself, everyone agreed.“The IOA had decided that before we head back to Pegasus, it would be a good idea to throw a party, for the World Leaders. They don’t often get to see the fruits of their decisions and they decided this would be a good opportunity.”
Relationships: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Comments: 46
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over the course a weekend and it is nothing but self-indulgent fluff. I got struck with the idea in the middle of editing another one, and needed a break so I decided to run with it. This is my first foray into one of my favourite shows, and favorite ships of all time, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
> 
> This is completed and I'm going to be posting one chapter a day! The chapters vary in length but the whole story is about 30k words give or take.
> 
> This is unbeta'd and as a result, all failings are mine and mine alone!

“Do you want to run that by us again?”

Woolsey tried to hide and he didn’t blame the man. It was insane! It was a nightmare. It was a wraith hive outside their front door. There was nothing rational about this. And judging by the looks around the table, including the man himself, everyone agreed. 

“The IOA had decided that before we head back to Pegasus, it would be a good idea to throw a party, for the World Leaders. They don’t often get to see the fruits of their decisions and they decided this would be a good opportunity.”

Silence followed. Clearly none of them had been hallucinating. 

“Are we back on the mist planet?” Rodney asked. 

“No Dr. McKay this is real,” Woolsey replied tiredly. 

More silence followed as everyone tried to come to grips with what they had been told. Rodney had seen a lot of strange things over the years, had participated in a lot of strange off world rituals with varying levels of success, but that had all been off world. In a different galaxy, on a brand new planet. This level of strange wasn’t supposed to happen on _Earth_. It was Earth! They were supposed to know and understand this world a little bit better.

“Did everyone go insane?”

“Apparently,” Sheppard muttered shifting uncomfortably. 

Woolsey sighed and sat down with a thump. “I fear there might be something more with this.”

That got everyone’s attention. Even Rodney felt his back straighten up, Woolsey’s tone sending danger danger signals through his brain and he could feel his body preparing to flee and his palms got sweaty. Stupid flight or fight.

“More?” Teyla asked carefully.

“The IOA is not...happy.”

“About what?” Sheppard snapped. “We saved the damned planet!”

“Yes. And they are most thankful for that, but they are worried with the leadership.”

“What?” Rodney asked, not bothering to moderate his tone, or his volume judging by Sheppard’s wince next to him. “We’re fantastic! What’s wrong with us?”

Woolsey sighed again. “They cannot remove you, Dr. McKay or myself from our positions. Not after what we accomplished. However, they feel if you were introduced to the world leaders and they found you… _lacking_ then they would be able to lobby for your removal. Then they would be able to replace you with individuals more...docile.”

Silence followed. Rodney had seen and heard some dumb things before, but this was swiftly moving to the top of the very, very _very_ long list. 

“That’s stupid,” Ronon said. 

“Really stupid,” Zelenka agreed. 

“Are they snaked?” Lorne asked, looking disgusted by the idea. 

Rodney snorted. “Priors? No one else follows that blindly.”

“Maybe there’s a new bug going around?” Jennifer offered. 

Woolsey managed a small smile. “No, I just feel like they’re being. Well themselves.”

Silence dropped around the table again, and Rodney dropped back against the chair, hearing it squeak. No one talked, no one knew what to say and Woolsey didn’t seem inclined to try and break that silence. Rodney knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as the IOA hoped, he knew damn well that it was going to go the opposite, but he still felt like this whole thing was some sort of mental break down born hallucination. There had to be a reason for this. Maybe he had somehow gotten infected with nanites like Elizabeth had and this was all some sort of machine dream. That would make more sense that what Woolsey was proposing.

“They have seen our files, right?” Sheppard asked suddenly. 

Rodney started and looked at Woolsey, raising an eyebrow in question. “All of them?”

Woolsey shrugged. “They have the same access that I have, but I cannot tell you what they read.”

“Have you read them?” Rodney asked curiously.

Woolsey nodded. “Everything that I could.”

“So, you know…” Sheppard said trailing off as Woolsey nodded. 

“I know Colonel.”

Lorne, Zelenka and Jennifer were following their conversation, eyes bouncing back and forth like tennis match spectators. Teyla was looking on with the this-is-fascinating face that really meant she was off in some dream world thinking about Torren and Kanaan, or her upcoming shopping trip with Jennifer and Carter. Rodney would swear up and down that Ronon had learned how to fall asleep with his eyes open, the soft breathing did nothing to dissuade him of that notion. 

“Know what?” Jennifer asked. 

“Oh just…stuff,” Rodney said waving a hand. “The IOA is really this stupid.”

Sheppard snorted. “Got chapstick McKay?”

“What? Yes? Why?”

“Because we’re about to kiss ass so pucker up.”

Rodney scowled. “Ready to wear your monkey suit.”

“Dress blues are in my closet.”

Rodney snorted. “It’ll be black tie dumbass, mess dress or bust.”

Sheppard grimaced and looked over at Woolsey who nodded. “I’ll need to…find one,” he said finally. “Never officially had one.”

Lorne let out a low groan and rubbed at his face. “I don’t think anyone has the mess dress,” he said. “At least we’re on Earth?”

Rodney could appreciate Lorne’s attempt at optimism, it was impressive, especially since he had apparently deduced that as Sheppard’s XO he would also need to flounce around the stupid party and kiss ass. 

“Got a tux McKay?”

Rodney nodded before he grimaced. “Yea--no, it got ruined after the whole,” he trailed off, flapping a hand towards Jennifer. “I’ll get a new one. And so, will everyone else.” 

“Scientists?”

“I’ll make Miko deal with it,” Rodney said as Zelenka nodded his fervent agreement. 

“We don’t have to plan anything do we?” Lorne asked looking slightly green as the thought crossed his mind. 

“No. There is a lot that goes into these parties and on such short notice we will have professionals help us,” Woolsey assured them.

“So, when is the big day?” Sheppard asked aiming for chipper, and sounding more like he was on his way to a funeral.

“A month from now, we have enough time to prepare everyone who will be in attendance, the entire city will not need to be there but they will need to be…isolated.”

Rodney heard someone mutter lucky bastards and he agreed. He groaned and sat back, crossing his arms over his chest and sulking. “I hope the Ori come back.”

“Me too Dr. McKay,” Woolsey said letting them see the full weight of his exhaustion. “Me too.”

The meeting cleared out not soon after, leaving him with Woolsey and Sheppard. Silence fell around them before, the three of them eyeing each other up. Rodney liked Woolsey, he wasn’t the worst person they could have chosen, and he clearly had known and had never seen fit to mention it, which put him up a couple steps in his opinion. But he also kept things close to the chest, and he knew how to draw out information by dropping clues for people to follow, to get them respond the way Woolsey wanted them too. It was helpful when it was focused on someone else, Rodney hated it when it was used against him. 

He always blundered into them.

Sheppard cleared his throat.

“Richard,” Sheppard said, sounding both friendly and serious. A tone Rodney had never managed even when he tried. He preferred loud and bloody-minded. 

“You’ve read _all_ of our files right,” Sheppard said looking at Rodney meaningfully.

Woolsey nodded. “Everything in your files and when I got curious. I did some digging. I know who both of your parents are, although admittedly, I was confused by your last name Dr. McKay. Your mother’s maiden name, correct?”

Rodney nodded his head, impressed despite himself. “For security reasons,” he offered but didn’t explain more. “You going to tell the IOA?”

Woolsey was silent for a moment before shaking his head. “No.”

There was silent for a moment before Sheppard spoke. “Dick move.” 

Woolsey shrugged. “Perhaps. People tend to forget that I was a Capitol Hill lawyer long before I worked for the IOA. And a damn good one at that. I know the power of perception, both public and private. If people choose not to look beyond the public then that is their own fault. Especially if the private isn’t a secret.”

Rodney snorted but didn’t disagree. “That’s a fancy way of saying it’s their own fault for not doing their homework.”

“So, what do you think?” he asked curious. No one had ever asked him, or Sheppard he assumed, about their parents and he had always wondered what people thought. Or if they knew. It was a big secret to have, and while he never felt bad about not being as forthcoming as others might, he still wanted to know.

“For a while I was confused as to why you would hide your connections. However, once I got to know both of you, I realized how hard you both worked to stand on your own merit. The fact that the IOA thinks they need to do this to remove you speaks to your capacity as leaders. You have done amazing work here, and no one can ever dispute that fact. I am... interested to see their responses.”

“You mean excited,” Rodney said sounding gleeful. 

Woolsey smiled slyly. “Perhaps.”

“They’re going to choke.”

Sheppard snorted. “Don’t rub it in their face too much.” Sheppard warned half-heartedly. 

“Would I do that?”

“Absolutely.”

Rodney had to concede the point and he opened his mouth again only to be interrupted by Woolsey.

“Gentlemen, perhaps you let your second in commands know. So they are not as caught unawares as the rest of the city will be. Also, Dr. Keller, Ronon and Teyla as well.”

“Ronon and Teyla know,” Sheppard said. 

“But do they understand the implications? “

Rodney and Sheppard exchanged looks before shrugging at the same time. Teyla and Ronon knowing and understanding Earth customs were different, and whether or not they did would vary from situation to situation. It was the same as when either he or Sheppard tried to understand one of theirs, usually failing to in Rodney’s case. He frankly thought there was something to be said that he tried, which was more than he had done for a lot of other people. 

“Ah, maybe not,” Rodney admitted. “Well make sure. I’ll make a presentation.”

“How come you don’t want the city to know?” Sheppard asked. 

Woolsey smile sharply. “I wouldn’t want to give away the secret too soon. I am still...irritated that they thought about replacing me.”

“I want to tell a couple more people, Miko and Simpson should know, also Beckett I think. But he might know anyway?” Rodney said.

“I should let Teldy and Cadman know as well,” Sheppard said. “Once it’s out in the open, it’ll make it easier if some marines know as well.”

“Do you think it will be an issue?” Woolsey asked.

“Not for the majority,” Sheppard admitted. “I like to think that I’ve proven myself by now, but there’s always someone.”

“I don’t think my scientists will give a shit, but who knows,” Rodney said shrugging again. 

Woolsey nodded and leaned back in his chair. “I will leave it to your discretion then.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rodney dropped onto his bed with a groan, covering his face, feeling John settled next to him. “This is going to be fun,” he said sarcastically, rubbing his face a couple times before dropping his hands to his side and looking up at John. 

John nodded his head, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Especially after the last elections.”

Rodney snorted. “They’re not going to believe us you know.”

John nodded again. “I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

Rodney sighed and sat up, wrapping a hand around the back of Johns head and tugging him into a kiss. “At least this won’t be hidden for much longer.”

That managed to make John smile. “Do you really think we hid it on Atlantis?”

Rodney shrugged. “I think Jennifer didn’t know, but she got it after I made sure she knew I only saw her as a friend.”

John’s jaw clenched with tension and jealousy and Rodney laughed. “Calm down Colonel, she knows. I made sure of it. She and Ronon are happy anyway.”

John looked away and Rodney sighed, shifting to rest against the headboard and tugging John down to rest against him. John went unwillingly, body as stiff as a board and he bit his lip, fighting back another smirk. “The jealousy is cute.”

“M’not cute,” John said irritably.

This wasn’t the first time they had the argument, and Rodney figured there was perhaps two or three more times they had it until John finally believed him. He had taken Jennifer to the conference because he knew John wouldn’t have been able too, and she had needed the break. Of course it hadn’t been the break they were hoping for, and he still sort of felt bad about that, but at least when they had gotten back to Atlantis Ronon had finally gotten into gear and asked her out. 

He settled for rubbing up and down John’s back, once again marveling at how long his torso was, and how weirdly attracted to it he was. He could remember being kids, sitting and John towering over him, only to stand and be the same height. It had been a mystery that confused him, at least until he deigned to learn a little about genetics and realized there was no sense or order or to them and so clearly, it was all voodoo. 

“I think I have the video of when we were kids,” Rodney said finally. 

John, who had been relaxing, stiffened slightly before collapsing fully against Rodney with a groan. “That one?”

Rodney hummed. “I think a series of videos, and photos might…drive the point home.”

“But that one?”

“It’s cute.”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“I could show them some of the photos from your bachelor party?” Rodney suggested.

John stiffened again and Rodney bit back a sigh. He knew bringing up John’s marriage was never a good idea, and he had never understood it. John and Nancy had worked, and then they hadn’t. Rodney had liked Nancy, hell he still liked Nancy, they just hadn’t worked out. Rodney didn’t understand the guilt John seemed to carry over the whole thing. Their college relationship had ended when John had joined the ROTC and while Rodney hadn’t been happy, he had understood. He had long since gotten over the jealousy he had felt, especially when he had seen how happy John had been on his wedding day. 

Admittedly the small selfish part of him that he hated more and more as he got older had been excited when the divorce had been finalized. He had never gotten over the childhood jealousy of mine that came with him really only having one close friend for a long time. 

More than anything, Rodney had been jealous that Nancy had been able to be with John in public. 

“Don’t be stupid,” he said, gripping Johns hip. “You would have made a fine stripper, the girls told us so.”

John was silent for a moment before he let out a snort. “They just liked throwing glitter on me.”

“We all enjoyed that,” Rodney admitted. “We had a running bet to see who could get you the most covered. I won.”

“Naturally.”

“I never minded getting it in your hair, so it made it easy.”

Rodney gripped the back of Johns neck to keep him where he was before the other man could pull back and scowl. He raised an eyebrow at his lover, waiting for John’s huff of disgruntled agreement before leaning in to kiss him again. 

“I’m not jealous,” he said after the kiss ended, both of them slightly out of breath.

“Liar.”

“Not of Nancy,” Rodney amended. “We weren’t in a place then where we could have worked.”

“It worked in college,” John said almost petulantly. 

“Well it’s a lot easier to hide when your roommates,” he said. “Not so easy when I’m traveling working for varying governments and you’re flying in war zones.”

John was silent and Rodney let it be. He wondered often if John really thought they would have been able to make it work. It was a nice thought. But Rodney had never been an optimist, on a good day he would call himself ruthlessly pragmatic. The world was a hard place, and there was no use denying that. Not that he wouldn’t celebrate the good when it came, he just understood the world a lot better than people thought he did. 

“I can’t believe you stood there,” John said finally. “After everything, you were by my side while I married someone else.”

Rodney was silent for a moment longer before he sighed. “John, I love you, I’ve been in love with you longer than I’ve had words to express it. It was mutual, we both knew the stakes and we made the decision then and I think it was the right one.”

“Do you?” John asked softly.

“I do. I mean sure, it hurt don’t get me wrong, and watching you marry her sucked, but I’d never begrudge you happiness. I’ve always got your back, and I’m always going to be by your side and I think if we had kept trying to date, it would have driven us apart.”

“Or kept us together.”

“I’m not that romantic.”

“We could have,” John said stubbornly. 

It amazed Rodney, how enamored John was of the idea of fighting against the whole world with your partner at your side. Like the world didn’t matter as long as love was involved. He hid it well, but Rodney sometimes wondered if his Mother’s penance for Lifetime movies had influenced John a lot more than he realized. Or maybe it was just his constant need to stick it to the man. The revel in love of some bullcrap he mostly didn’t believe in. Sure, John made him want to believe in the concept of love conquering all, but those were fantasies for late nights and warm baths. 

“I’m not made for waiting at home while you go off and do dangerous things,” he said finally. “I’ve most definitely learned that since we came here.”

John was silent. “What was the difference between friendship and our relationship to you then? Because I thought of you the same amount, whenever I crash or was in a hairy situation, you were the person I wanted to get back to the most.”

“Ah Colonel, you know as well as I do that I am able to convince myself of anything if I try hard enough.”

The sharp look in John’s eyes told him the glib tone he had been aiming for had come out melancholy. 

“That’s a load of bullshit.”

“Maybe, but it keeps me sane. If we had still been together, I wouldn’t have handled it well. You know how close I am to a break down every day.”

“That’s also a load of bullshit.”

Rodney paused. “Not according to the new and great Dr. Carrillo.”

John groaned. “Don’t tell me you’ve been fucking with the psychologist.”

“If he’s too stupid to realize, then I don’t think he deserves the consideration. Kate called me on my bullshit in two sessions, it’s been three months and Dr. Dumbass hasn’t said a thing.”

John laughed, turning his face to press against Rodney’s chest, trying to muffle the sound. Rodney grinned, glad to feel the last of the tension leave John’s body. He tightened his arms, holding John as his partner got himself under control. 

“He’s going to flip when he finds out,” John finally said.

“And hopefully quit,” Rodney said darkly. “We need someone who can handle us and everything we deal with.”

“And he can’t?”

“No, not the way…” Rodney trailed off as he felt John tense. He sighed. “Not your fault John.”

John nodded. “I know, I just hate the idea that the last thing she felt was fear at my face and whatever that thing did to her.”

“She wouldn’t blame you.”

“That’s what makes it worse.”

Rodney stayed silent for a few moments, mourning Kate. She had fit in, in her own crazy way. She had been one of them, and her loss had been a hard one. They were on their fifth psychologist since Kate had passed, and each of them had finally quit, not able to keep up with both the job and the stress of living in a war zone. Rodney continued to rub up and down John’s back as the quiet stretched between them, an easy thing but Rodney had never met a silence he didn’t want to fill.

“Marry me,” he said softly.

John looked at Rodney. “You already asked me that, and I already said yes.”

“I like hearing the answer,” he admitted.

“Yes.”

Rodney’s smile matched John’s as they kissed. 

“I’ll wear my mess dress when we do.”

Rodney grimaced. “Nope, no military, no science, nothing. I want jeans and t-shirts and just our friends and us.”

“You know we won’t be able too.”

“Fucking watch me, I’ll make Halling do it on the mainland.”

“I am not having an Athosian ceremony; they’re sixteen hours long!”

“Better than what Ronon’s told me about the Satedan ones. Apparently, they’re bound to each other for a week, so that there are no secrets between couples.”

“Everything?”

“Everything,” Rodney said with a meaningful look towards the en suite.

John grimaced.

“Woolsey would make a speech,” Rodney continued. “If we don’t do Teyla or Ronon we can’t use anyone else. Paperwork and a party?”

“Family.”

“I don’t know what they’re expecting to do, we work on a highly classified military base in another galaxy.”

“A McKay finds a Way.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” John said, shifting until he was settled back against Rodney’s chest. He rested his hands resting on Rodney’s knees, fingers tracing over the seam of his pants. 

“We have time,” Rodney said, hooking his fingers together on John’s stomach and resting his chin on his shoulder. “We have this party to get through first.”

“The only upside to this whole shindig is the IOA’s faces.” 

Rodney smirked and kissed the side of John’s neck, it was just there after all. “I’ll make sure its taped.”

Dropping his head to the side John nodded. “Good.”

Rodney bit down on the tendon on John’s neck, unable to help himself really. He slid his hands under Johns shirt, fingers scratching through John’s happy trail. He wanted to leave a mark, but he wasn’t sixteen anymore, and despite the open secret it probably wasn’t a good idea to add fuel to the flames. John didn’t make it easier, one hand curling around Rodney’s skull and holding him close, the other moving to push Rodney’s hand down.

“Impatient,” he muttered biting down again. 

John pushed his hips up in response. “Horny.”

Rodney fought for a second before giving in, his fingers deftly undoing the button and zipper. Sliding his hand inside, he wrapped his fingers around John’s erection and squeezed gently. “I can tell,” he said, starting to bite along John’s jawline. It was a nice jawline.

John let out a hitching moan and thrust into the grip. Rodney’s other hand slowly slid John’s chest until he could tweak a nipple. He felt John try to push into both of his hands, and he smirked, biting down on the corner of his jaw again, a little sharper than he intended. He continued the same motions, not moving either hand, feeling John press from one to another. He finally pulled his mouth away, worried he was going to worry a mark that even John’s stubble wouldn’t be able to hide.

“Naked, we need to get naked,” he said finally, pushing John away so he could work on his own clothes.

John shifted onto his knees and faced Rodney, their eyes locking as they fumbled with their own clothes, neither of them wanting to break the gaze first, not even to blink. It was always stupid, the competitions they got into at the weirdest times, but Rodney felt the edges of his mouth pull up into a smirk, regardless and John returned it.

They got there eventually, clothes thrown of the edge of the bed. Rodney didn’t have time to do anything before John grabbed his ankle and dragged him down enough he was lying flat. Rodney could feel the sheets bunch up under him but he didn’t care, wrapping his arms around John who straddled him, grabbing his ass and grinding up against him. John groaned, dropping down to brace elbows on either side of his head, kissing him deeply.

They kept grinding against each other, moans muffled by mouths and breathing becoming labored. Rodney shifted, shifting John up a little bit more so he could grind his cock against John’s ass.

Rodney pulled back from the kiss to gasp. “Get the lube, want you to ride me,” he got out before diving back into the kiss.

John grunted, focused on sucking on Rodney’s tongue for the moment. Rodney wasn’t feeling over motivated to stop him either, tightening his grip and thrusting up again. John finally pulled away and leaned over him, scrabbling for the lube in the side table. It put John’s torso right in front of his face, the lone lean line of muscles shifting under skin an attraction he would happy pay a fortune to watch. Without conscious thought, he leaned forward and bit down over his ribs, worrying at the skin and sucking.

John tensed and let out a groan, but didn't move away. Taking that as silent permission, Rodney bit down again, harder this time, to work on a mark. There was something decadent about it, knowing only he would be able to see it.

It couldn’t have been comfortable to lean across him, but John stayed, even pushing into Rodney’s mouth. Rodney could feel Johns ribs moving as he sucked the skin, biting down once more before he pulled back, feeling smug when he saw the red mark he knew would blossom into a bruise.

“Done?” John asked, attempting for snark and coming out breathless.

“Mmhmm,” he hummed, moving to pull John back down and grab the lube, slicking up his fingers.

They kept kissing as he opened John up, one finger moving to two, to three, John thrusting his hips back to meet his fingers easily. This wasn’t their first time and it wasn’t long before John was sliding down Rodney cock, both of them groaning at the sensation. Rodney gripped Johns hips tightly, watching as he sank all the way down, fighting not to move as John adjusted.

They stayed like that for a moment, both of them panting and staring in another ill-timed staring contest. John smirked suddenly and leaned down, kissing Rodney until they were breathless.

“Don’t move.”

John sat up and back, his hands resting on Rodney’s thighs. Rodney’s eyes narrowed, sweeping up his long torso, watching the shift of muscles under skin. John looked good, strong and dangerous, the light hitting him right, like it always did. He gripped his lovers’ hips tightly, doing his best not to thrust up as asked as John began to ride him.

John started slow, his arms and legs tensing, abs flexing as he lifted himself up and slide back down, slowly beginning to speed up as he found his rhythm. Rodney held on, unable and unwilling to move, to stop John from taking what he wanted. He could see the pleasure on the other man’s face, the little groans and grunts pushed out of him every time he dropped back down.

Rodney’s eyes widened, wanting to take everything in, unable to look away from John. He was gorgeous, he had been as long as Rodney could remember. He was a beacon, all golden skin and long muscles working in tandem. He could see his cock, hard against his belly and Rodney wanted to wrap a hand around it, jerk John off and feel him come around his dick, but he didn’t want to end it too soon.

“Jesus fuck John,” Rodney ground out, fighting the urge to thrust up. “Wanna tape this, can watch it anytime I want, see you like this, selfish and taking what you want.”

John looked down at Rodney, the corner of his lips twitching into a smirk. “Yeah?” he asked, slowing down, his hips rolling more than bouncing, keeping Rodney deep inside of him. The angle must have worked, because the smirk fell off his face, his body clenching down hard around Rodney’s dick, both of them moaning.

“Oh, fuck yes,” Rodney ground up, gripping John’s hips even tighter, helping him move his hips as John kept grinding down. Rodney had never been quiet, and sex wasn’t any different, a litany of words constantly falling from his lips. “You look incredible, so fucking tight holy shit. Wish I could keep you like this always, hard and naked and ready for me all the time.”

John clenched down around Rodney again, moaning even louder. He let go of one of his hips, running his hand up John’s body fingers tracing his abs, trailing over the edge of his ribs and up, tweaking a nipple as he passed to feel John clench down again. He moved his hand up higher, stretching so he could trace fingers along Johns throat and jawline, wanting to drag him down into a kiss but not wanting to give up what he was seeing.

“Wish you could, feels so good,” John said as he began to move again, harder and fasting this time, grunting with each downward motion.

John wasn’t a selfish person, not by nature, not unless Rodney could get him here, to this place where he was overwhelmed and his only focus was getting off. It was John at this hottest, selfish and using Rodney’s cock. He would happily spend the rest of his life giving John what he wanted, especially when it felt and looked this amazing. He was a nice person like that.

Rodney trailed his hand back down Johns torso, stopping to press against the mark he had left, feeling John shudder and so he did it again. “Wish I could mark you more, want everyone to know you’re mine and no one else can touch you.”

John’s legs were beginning to shake, his body covered in a faint sheen of perspiration. “Rodney,” John ground out, asking and demanding.

Rodney continued to move his hand, tracing over his abs again, touching everywhere except for where he wanted it the most. He could feel the tension in Johns body, could see how hard he was, wetness pooling at the tip and his mouth watered, wishing he could blow John while he was being ridden. He licked over his bottom lip, hearing John moan again and he looked up, meeting his lovers’ eyes as he licked over his lip again.

John moved then, leaning forward, one hand planted next to Rodney’s head, the other pressing three fingers into his mouth. Rodney sucked on them easily, both of his hands moving to grab Johns ass, bending his knees so he could start to thrust up hard into him.

“Oh holy fuck.” John’s gaze was intense, focused on the slide of fingers in and out of Rodney’s mouth. He kept sucking on them, tongue working over them like he would John’s cock. Rodney shifted his hips on each thrust until he felt John clench down and cry out.

Keeping one hand on his ass, he grabbed the back of Johns neck and pulled him down, holding him in place as he fucked up hard, his ass and thighs burning but never wanting to stop. He made sure to hit that spot each time, feeling John clench down and grunt out. John was shaking, his whole body writhing between his hands, throwing his hips back, the sound of skin on skin filling the room.

John pulled his fingers out of Rodney’s mouth, gripping the sheets by his head as leverage to throw his hips back into each thrust, motions rough and out of control now.

“Come on John,” Rodney whispered, tightening his hand on Johns neck, keeping him in place. He turned his head so he could press his mouth again John’s ear, knowing how sensitive they were. He was rewarded with a full body shudder, John’s erection rubbing against his stomach.

“Want you to come John, want you to come from nothing but my cock in your ass, held down and fucked as hard as you like.”

“Rodney,” John groaned out, clenching down around him, trembling visibly now. Rodney could see down the length of Johns back, see his muscles work and could hear the slide of their bodies together. John was gone, lost in a haze of pleasure and Rodney never wanted to stop.

“Know you want too, know how much you love being fucked,” he continued, talking to John even as he pushed in hard, stopping to grind into John against his prostate, hearing the cry and he grinned and repeated it. He was a scientist; he needed repeatable results.

“Fuck, please, oh fuck please,” John begged desperately.

Rodney could feel his balls tighten, his orgasm building and he knew he was close, and he knew John was close. Releasing the grip on his neck, Rodney dropped his oher hand down to Johns ass, his fingers digging in and spreading his cheeks, digging his heels in trying to fuck even harder than he was. He slid his fingers in, wanting to feel where his cock was sliding in and out of John.

“Wish I could see you like this, watch as you take my cock and beg for more,” he continued. “C’mon John, come for me, want to feel you clench around me.”

“Rodney,” John said brokenly, his back arching trying to get Rodney deeper.

If Rodney could bring himself to stop, he’d pull out and shove John onto his stomach, so he could fuck him harder and deeper, real back of the throat thrusts that brought John to orgasm faster than anything else. He didn’t want to stop feeling John’s whole-body writhe on top of him, the drag of his cock against his stomach, the press of their legs together and the way John was moaning in his ear.

“Now,” Rodney demanded, pressing the tip of his finger into John’s hole, stretching him wider. “C’mon now,” he ordered and it was enough.

John came with a cry, his body arching, clenching down hard around Rodney who kept fucking him through it, not able to stop seeking his own pleasure. John shuddered and moaned against him as Rodney pushed his orgasm out longer, each thrust causing John’s breath to hitch. He wrapped both arms around Johns waist and held him down, fucking up into him a faster chasing his orgasm. He came finally, his back arching, slamming into John one more time and he cried out.

He didn’t know how long he drifted before he came back down to Earth. John had collapsed on top of him, both of them panting like they had made a break for the gate. He kept his arms tight around John, not wanting them to pull apart yet. He liked the intimacy of these moments, just the two of them in their own little bubble, the world a hazy and distant place.

He could feel hot breath against his cheek, and he turned his head, nosing at John until he got a clue and tilted his head so they could kiss. John didn’t fight it, opening his mouth easily. They kissed, tongues sliding against each other, bodies spent and sticky. Rodney pulled back after a while, biting down on John’s lip a little harder than intended if the hiss was anything to go by.

“Fuck,” Rodney said, licking his bottom lip in apology.

John chuckled and kissed him again, drawing it out once more before pulling back. “Mmhmm.”

Rodney repeated what he said, his arms finally unlocking from around John’s waist to move to slide up and down his back, feeling muscles twitch occasionally. He felt himself slip from Johns body and he dropped a hand down, sliding three fingers deep into John, feeling how warm and wet he was. John jumped and groaned but didn’t fight it, just spread his knees wider.

Post-orgasm John was a cat chasing sunlight, warm and relaxed, lazy and chasing the pleasure.

“Insatiable,” Rodney murmured, fingers moving in and out of him lazily. He knew he was making John more of a mess, but he didn’t care.

“Feels good,” John mumbled.

Rodney turned his head, kissing John again, his fingers moving steadily in and out of John. Soft, easy kisses traded as their heart beats slowed down and their bodies relaxed more onto the bed. Nothing was going to happen, but it felt good regardless. Eventually Rodney stopped once John started shivering from oversensitivity, drawing his fingers out and just resting a hand possessively on a cheek.

“Love you,” Rodney said softly.

John smiled, his eyes still closed, half asleep. “Love you too.”

They laid there for a few more moments before drying come between them finally got John moving. He stood up and stretched, arms reaching for the ceiling and his back arching. Rodney watched unabashedly, eyes running up and down his partners body.

“God you’re beautiful,” he said still bowled over by John sometimes. Brains, beauty and a good sense of humor, what more could Rodney ever ask for? Slightly less prone to injury might be nice.

John blushed, but he didn’t say anything to the contrary. That was a vast improvement over times past where he would come up with all the excuses why he wasn’t good looking. It had frustrated Rodney, that John couldn’t see how he looked, and so he had done what he usually did. Blunt force repetition until John stopped arguing. It had worked for grad students, his scientists, the military and now John.

“I need a shower,” John said instead, turning and walking into the en suite. Rodney wolf whistled as John walked away, grinning when he was flipped off. “Coming?”

“Always,” he replied, standing up and following John. “You know I love having your back.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So why are we here Rodney?” Zelenka asked dropping into a seat between Miko and Jennifer. 

Simpson, Lorne, Ronon, Teyla, Teldy, Carson and Cadman had all arrived moments before Zelenka and had started talking, loudly, while they waited for the last member of the group. Rodney was standing with Sheppard at the front of the room, a laptop open in front of him and his arms crossed. The two of them were standing close, shoulders brushing. He could see the cranky look on Sheppard face and he knew his partner hated the two videos. Rodney didn’t understand it, they were cute. 

Rodney grinned and waited for the conference room doors to close, before clapping his hands together. “We have something we need to tell you.”

“You dating, yes we know,” Zelenka replied bluntly.

“What? No?” Rodney said frowning. “Well yes, but no, not that.”

“What is it then?” Cadman asked, swinging back and forth in her seat. “You adopting?”

Rodney made a face at her. “No.”

“Ohh spring wedding then?” Simpson asked.

“Should really be a winter wedding,” Miko said.

“That’s true, the Colonel can wear black and then the Doc can wear a nice burgundy.”

“I am thinking a blue instead, like eyes?”

Rodney blinked at his two scientists. “What? No. We’re not getting married.”

“No?” Zelenka asked. 

“No…well..yes, we are but not now.”

“Why not now?” Cadman asked.

“Yeah Rodney, why not now?” John interrupted, grinning unrepentantly. 

“Oh my god stop encouraging the children,” Rodney grouched, arms crossed over his chest and giving John the stink eye. The amused look was better than the pout so Rodney would give him that, though he would not admit it. 

“Las Vegas wedding?”

“I hope they get the little gray Aliens, have it signed by Hermiod.”

“Can we get t-shirts if you do, we all wear the next time Daedalus is around?”

“I still think they’re adopting. Imagine McKay as a Dad, I wonder who would scream louder.”

“I could be paid millions you know,” Rodney interrupted. “I could have underlings in a lab who worship me and the ground I walk upon.”

Simpson snorted. “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t see Miko make the new scientists cry while crying herself.”

Zelenka nodded. “Is best part of New Scientist Day, especially if popcorn gets sent down first. Rite of passage.”

Rodney sighed, hands on his hips. “You know, when I thought about my life as a young kid I always saw myself as a brilliant scientist with minions aplenty to help me save the world. Instead I get a Greek fucking chorus.”

He could see Lorne trying to hide his smile, but not one else was bothering, chuckling. He fought to keep his scowl in place, hiding his own amusement. He had gotten lucky with his team and he knew that. He worked with the best of the best and if he was hard on them, it was only because he wanted them to become better, like he knew they could. Not that he would tell them, ever. They didn’t need two super egos in the lab, his was enough. 

“You done?” he asked, waiting for everyone to settle.

“So, whats up doc,” Teldy asked, using the same obnoxious bugs bunny impression most of the military contingent had taken to using last year. Rodney blanked Woolsey and his apparently love of all things Looney Tunes for bringing all the old cartoons into the city. 

Rodney glowered before he sighed. “As some of you know, we will be hosting the illustrious IOA in a party next month, resplendent with all the different world leaders and who’s who in the know.”

Lorne grimaced again. “Security is going to be a nightmare.”

“Good thing we’re not dealing with it,” Rodney replied. “Well you’re not. I’m dealing with internal security; the actual people will be supplied by the SGC. All of our members will either be in attendance or across the city where they can’t cause trouble. And yes, that means mess dress.”

Teldy and Cadman groaned. “Hate those skirts,” they said in unison. 

“Do we need to buy dresses?” Miko asked wide eyes.

“Yes, or a tux in Zelenka and Carson’s case,” Rodney explained. “Don’t worry, the SGC will be funding those shopping trips. I have no clue what to do with you two,” he said looking at Teyla and Ronon.

“What do you mean”?

“Well I don’t think leather and wraith teeth works very well,” Rodney said with a pointed look at Ronon who just grinned back at him before looking at Teyla. “Earth tends to cover up a bit more for formal events.”

“Do I not look good in this?” Teyla asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Rodney could see Lorne and Zelenka shifting, but Rodney had been working with Teyla too long to rise to the bait. “As a hot-blooded male, I appreciate your outfits and think you look as beautiful as ever, but most Earthlings are stupid.”

“I miss when it was easier to rile him up,” Ronon said to Teyla who nodded her head. Rodney scowled at both of them.

“Is it just us?” Simpson asked.

Rodney shook his head. “No, unfortunately. I want at least the department heads, but we need to have each country represented which is stupid because some of the countries only sent me the soft sciences scientists and they are useless and shouldn’t be highlighted. Carson and Jennifer will deal with the medical, Woolsey support start, and Sheppard and Lorne will figure out the military.”

Sheppard grimaced but didn’t say anything and Rodney understood. It was going to be a logistical nightmare and he knew some feelings were going to be hurt, and while he didn’t really care as much as the other department heads in the room, he knew of some people this was a big deal. Rodney just hoped people understood. 

“Can’t play _favorites_ ,” he said hands spread to his sides as he wiggled his fingers. 

“So why we here?” Carson asked. “We have a lot of work to do as well.” 

“Well, like I said, Sheppard and I have something to tell you,” Rodney repeated. “Honestly you think you’re going senile, you might want Jennifer to check that.”

“It is adoption!” Cadman said loudly. “Or did you find a poor woman to surrogate? How much did you pay her?”

“No such money is worth that stress. Baby McKay, bet it comes out 12 lbs,” Simpson said with a cheeky smile.

“There is child on kid planet who always wants to talk to McKay, maybe adopting that one?” Zelenka suggested.

“What about that young queen that thought Sheppard was a coward?” Jennifer offered up. 

Carson. “Ancient machine?” 

Lorne. “Secret girlfriends?”

“You’ve been watching too many lifetime movies,” Teldy said with a look at her XO. 

“Oh for Christ sakes,” Rodney said, rubbing at his forehead as the chatter started back up, everyone discussing that situation. He looked over at Sheppard who just grinned and didn’t do anything, hands in pockets. Fat lot of good he was.

“We’re not adopting, and no one’s carrying a baby,” Rodney said loudly, speaking over the group and quieting them. “I--we have a presentation to show you.”

That cut the last of the chatter.

“A presentation?” Miko asked.

Rodney nodded. “Slides, photos, some videos, very tasteful. I’m proud of it, isn’t it good?” he asked looking at Sheppard.

“Still hate the first video,” Sheppard said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Your complaint has been noted with management and I’m sorry to say they don’t give a flying fuck.”

Sheppard stuck a tongue out at Rodney and he sneered back before moving to where his computer was and pressed play. “Just watch and for fucks sake wait until the end for questions.”

Rodney watched as the old video starts, the footage grainy and slowly coming into focus on a chair. The camera swing and settles on a him when he was a toddler, maybe a year and a half old and crying in the middle of piles of blocks. He was a cute kid, all blonde curly hair and pale skin. He even looked cute crying, his face red and not looking like he was going to stop anytime soon. 

“Pat, look,” a disembodied voice says. 

Baby John stumbled into view on unsteady legs. He would be almost two there, skin a little darker and a full hair of spiky dark hair, honestly not that different in Rodney’s opinion. John toddled over to where Rodney was crying and dropped down next to him, wrapping him up in a hug.

“No cry no cry Merry no cry!” John said, sounding upset as well. 

As soon as the Rodney was wrapped in a hug, the wailing turned into big sniffles, arms coming to wrap around the second boy. Rodney, or Merry, didn’t say anything, just kept sniffing and crying, holding the John tightly. 

“No hurt!” John said, holding even tighter.

“Careful kiddo, you don’t wanna squeeze tight,” a different voice said.

“Merry hurt!” John said again, starting to cry himself. This set off Merry again, the two toddlers crying and holding each other, the adults in the room clearly laughing. 

The video cut out and Rodney could see the looks of confusion on everyone’s face.

“Uh,” Lorne said. “What?”

“Nothing?” Rodney asked, looking at Sheppard who was blushing. “Really?”

“A-dop-tion?” Cadman offered up slowly, shit eating grin on her face.

“I wish you had stayed with the Daedalus,” Rodney told her, full of feeling, rolling his eyes as she blew a raspberry at him.

“Oh, for fucks sake,” Rodney muttered as everyone else in the room chuckled. “Moving on!”

Pressing the play button on the second video, he crossed his arms and settled in, a little annoyed at them for not getting it. It had been obvious. 

The video was just as grainy, but this one was outside, the camera panning around before being set down, a pair of legs walking in front of it and off to the side, a voice calling to someone else. The camera was focused on John and Rodney, around three this time. They were running around, shrieking with excitement as they chased the butterflies in the air.

“Fly fly fly!” John said, hands reaching out for the butterflies, Rodney running after him, laughing. 

John suddenly stumbled and fell, landing hard on the ground. The laughter stopped and the crying started almost immediately, John sitting up and holding his hands out in front of him. Rodney stumbled over and dropped down, wrapping arms around the kid who had fallen and pulled him into a hug.

“No! No cry!” Merry said getting louder and louder as he started to cry as well. “No cry no hurt! Not allowed! No hurt John!”

“Oh fuck,” Lorne said suddenly, sitting up straight like he had been levered up. Rodney could see the Major looking between him and Sheppard and the screen, disbelief written clearly on his face.

“No way,” Lorne said and Rodney grinned. 

“Yes way,” he said a bit smugly. 

“Care to share with class?” Zelenka asked confused.

“Oh fuck,” Cadman said a second later before pointing at him. “Meredith, Merry,” she said before pointing at Sheppard. “John.”

“Bingo,” Sheppard said, hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels.

Rodney watched as the lights went off on the rest of their faces.

“You guys knew each other as kids?” Teldy asked, clearly coming to terms with it. 

“Not just as kids,” Sheppard said.

Rodney nodded his head and began to flip through the rest of the slides each one with a different photo. 

Age six, arms wrapped around each other and mouths covered with the remnants of chocolate ice cream, a lake behind them.

10, both of them wearing matching grins and too large lab coats, standing next to a rocket they had built. 

16 and sitting next to each other on a log in front of a campfire, heads bent together over a chess board between them.

18 and on a beach, John even skinnier than he was now, floppy hair and a tan, Rodney with the same mass of curls he had as a kid, face sunburnt and with shoulders too wide for his gangly body.

19 and in matching MIT sweaters in a messy dorm room, books spread out between them in a middle of an argument over one of them, an orange tabby draped across John’s shoulders.

21 at a bar, both clearly drunk, arms wrapped around each other and table littered with shots.

24 at Johns wedding, John in his dress blues, Rodney in a blue suit, Nancy standing between them the three of them laughing. 

30 and surrounded by car parts in the middle of an argument about the engine they were trying to fix, the body of some muscle car seen behind them.

34 and in Atlantis, dazed, excited and exhausted. 

“Oh, holy fuck,” Cadman breathed out slowly. 

Rodney grinned. “What, you think I let anyone throw me of off a balcony?”

Zelenka opened his mouth before closing it, clearly conceding the point. The rest of the room, save Ronon and Teyla, looked stunned, eyes darting between the final photo and the two of them. 

“Questions?” Rodney asked, feeling a little smug.

“Who knows?” Teldy asked.

“Technically a lot of people, our families, classmates, various friends. We never hid it, everyone just assumed we didn’t know each other. It was kind of fun actually,” Rodney mused. “It’s really funny how much people will let slide on the assumption of ‘Gate Team’. Like it’s some mystical connection that as soon as you step through the gate together suddenly you’re BFF’s and the world is sunshine. We’ve had just as many teams not work together well as we have teams that do. It’s a crap shoot.”

“How did you meet?” Carson asked, looking like he wished he was drinking. 

“Our parents had summer houses next to each other on Campobello Island,” Sheppard explained. 

Silence followed and the rest of the room looked at each other before slowly looking back at Sheppard and Rodney. Rodney grinned widely, always excited when he managed to surprise people. Finally, Simpson let out a little huh and shrugged.

“Kinda makes sense if you think about it,” she said. 

“Have you been dating all this time?” Jennifer asked, finally finding her voice. 

Rodney gave her a look and tapped at the computer, flicking back a couple photos to land on the one of them at the wedding. “Ask me that again.”

Jennifer blushed. “Well!” she said in a huff.

“We did in college, before I joined ROTC,” Sheppard explained. “Decided we wanted to keep being friends and broke up.” 

“Okay,” Lorne said slowly, clearly thinking. “It’s nice you told us? But how come?”

“Million-dollar question,” Rodney said snapping his fingers at pointing at the Major.

“Yeah, we already knew, so why are we here?” Ronon asked.

“Well, you know but I don’t think you truly understand,” Rodney explained.

“You knew?” Jennifer asked, sounding a little hurt, derailing the conversation again.

Ronon shrugged. “First thing Sheppard’s ex asked me was if I knew McKay when we went to his Dad’s funeral.”

“Why didnae you go?” Carson asked curious. 

“Sheppard Senior hated me, thought I ruined John or some shit like that. He specifically requested, in his will, that I wouldn’t go,” Rodney said waving a hand in the air and feeling smug about it. “Funny thing was, it wasn’t even for the dating. Apparently, I filled his head with grandiose ideas about flying and math and the air force or some bullshit.”

“I mean you did keep pushing me to go for math,” Sheppard drawled. “Ruined the family business.”

“Oh come on! You would have been wasted in business,” Rodney said clearly not buying it. “You spent most of my first PhD correcting my math! You were getting your bachelors!”

“You guys went to college together? You guys were so cute, oh my god you have all the stories,” Cadman said, leaning forward. 

“His masters, my second PhD, at MIT,” Rodney explained. “He does, and so do I, so unless you never want to be able to look your CO in the eye again I’d quit that line of thought.”

“It can’t be that bad, c’mon,” Cadman continued, the same gleam that Rodney often saw in Jeannie’s eye shining in hers.

“Laura love, think of the trouble they get into here, and now imagine them in college, I dunnae want to know,” Carson said holding up his hands in surrender. 

John pouted. “We weren’t that bad.”

“Oh, we absolutely were. You pouted at everyone to get us alcohol and I made friends with the chemistry department. Two words. Trashcan Tequila.”

John turned green and covered his mouth. “Oh, Christ don’t remind me.”

“Trashcan Tequila?” Zelenka asked and Rodney nodded.

“They used liquid nitrogen to freeze this alcohol they had distilled into a trashcan to up the alcohol content and Colonel Dumbass here got into a shot competition with half of the Mathletes. Puke for days.”

Sheppard turned even greener and swallowed. “I wouldn’t talk considering you gave yourself scurvy eating nothing but ramen and drinking coffee.”

“I’m allergic to citrus, it’s very hard for me.”

Sheppard rolled his eyes. “It’s not that hard, scurvy is the most easily avoidable disease in the world! Look at a vegetable and you won’t get it.”

“I’ll have you know those noodle cups have peas and carrots in them!”

“You tip those out!”

“They don’t reheat well! Mushy peas are for babies and the English.”

“You’re Canadian!”

“So?”

“That’s basically English, Mr. my country puts the Queen on the toonie.”

“That doesn’t mean we need the mushy peas!”

“Gentlemen,” Carson said, cutting between them both, rubbing at his eyes with his fingers. “Not that this isn’t fascinating, but would you kindly get to the bloody point?”

Rodney crossed his arms and huffed, glaring at Sheppard who looked back at him evenly. “The point is, the IOA wants Sheppard and I out and they’re not going to get it.”

He turned and looked at the group, most of them looking indulgent and Ronon looking like he was two seconds away from falling asleep.

“Why not?” Simpson asked. “You’re not exactly known for your charming personality.”

“I’ll have you know I can be really charming,” Rodney said sounding a bit offended.

“I’ve known you since we were kids, I know that’s not true,” Sheppard muttered. 

Rodney wrinkled his nose. “I was a eighteen-year-old wunderkind and I needed grant money, I can kiss ass with the best of them when I want to,” he repeated, glaring at Sheppard until the other man acquiesced with a grudging nod of his head. “But that’s not the point.”

“The point,” Carson said, sounding strained.

Rodney smiled and hit a button on his computer, bringing up the last and final photo. “This is the point.”

“Oh, fuck me.”

Rodney blinked at Miko, a split second before she covered her mouth and turned bright red, dropping her head down in embarrassment. 

“What she said,” Cadman muttered staring at the screen, similar looks of shock crossing everyone’s face except for Ronon and Teyla who looked confused.

Rodney clapped his hands. “Right so, you guys understand, now you need to impress it upon these two,” he said waving his hands towards his two teammates. “So we’re all on our best behavior and make the IOA rue the day they fucked with us. Which is what they should do most of the time but I don’t hold out much hope for them.”

Lorne opened his mouth and closed it, before frowning at John, moving to get halfway out of his seat. “Sir..?”

“Don’t Lorne, just…don’t.”


	4. Chapter 4

After that, things got hectic. More people were coming in and out of Atlantis than lived there. They had finally settled on the original mess hall as the ballroom. Nothing else had been cleared that was big enough, and it was one of the few places they hadn’t had to patch up over the years. Blaster scorch marks and mismatched panel colors didn’t really showcase the beauty of the city. It also had one of the wider balconies on the city, they could get security and a couple of the VIP’s on there. Over a couple of nights, they used the adjustment thrusters to turn to the city slowly, not wanting to chop up the ocean and give away their position, until the mess hall faced San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, a nice backdrop. Assuming the fog didn’t roll in. 

The morning after they completed the turn, Rodney stormed into Johns room and dropped across the end of the bed, John just pulling his feet out of the way at the last moment.

“Hi honey,” John said sarcastically, not looking away from his golfing magazine. 

“This is a disaster,” Rodney said, throwing his arms into the air. “A complete and unmitigated disaster.”

“What is?”

“I get the morning sun now!” Rodney said, his voice rising with each word. “I used to get the sunset which was nice you know, I was never in my room before sunset so it never bothered me. You know I like late nights and late mornings and now!”

He let out a noise of distress and turned his head to look at John who hadn’t even looked away from his magazine. “Now?” John asked, turning a page. 

“Now!! I get woken up by the sun and it ruins my sleep! I’m exhausted, I’m not 20 anymore, I don’t do well with no sleep.”

“You never did well with not sleep we just drank so much caffeine both of us were assholes,” John said, finally looking at Rodney over the top of his magazine.

Rodney scowled, reaching up to flick the side of Johns wrist. “I am having a crisis you know.”

Instead of replying, John shifted and turned, scooting back on the bed and laying down, feet resting on the wall and his head on Rodney’s stomach. He turned another page and started reading the article.

“Hello. Crisis?” Rodney said even as he dropped a hand, beginning to comb through John’s hair. 

“Stay here then,” John said. “I never get sunrise or sunset, and now I have an ocean view. It’s almost like being back home.”

“I can’t! What if peop—”

\--if people what Rodney?” John demanded, finally dropping his magazine down onto his chest and tilting his head so he could look at him. “Everyone knows, no one cares and no one’s going to spill anything. It’ll be a moot point soon anyway.”

Rodney was silent before he let out a long sigh. “I’m just worried,” he said the irritation fading as he kept on combing through Johns hair. 

It was as soothing for John as it was for him, the feeling of the soft strands moving through his fingers was relaxing, a reminder of calmer times in a small dorm room at MIT. All they needed was a bratty cat demanding food. For a moment Rodney wondered if it would be worth it, to drag A-M here, but the cat was almost 20 and living happy with his old next-door neighbor. Rodney had made sure of it. 

“We don’t have to be, not anymore,” John said going back to his magazine.

Rodney huffed but didn’t say anything, just closing his eyes and continuing to comb through John’s hair, not even realizing when he drifted off. 

Two days later Rodney stood next to Sheppard as he addressed everyone who had been chosen to attend the party. They were in one of the military briefing rooms, the room more crowded. It had been a nightmare choosing, and Rodney was sure he had lost some hair. They had finally settled on people, and it was more than he wanted, a lot more. But it couldn’t be helped, over the years as more scientists were recruited, more countries were brought into the fold. With more people finding out and declassification looking more likely than not. 

“Alright folks,” Sheppard said to the assembled members, rocking back and forth on his heels and giving his best trust-me-we’ve-got-this smile he gave natives when they needed help. “Here’s the deal. We’ve got a fancy party coming up and we all need to be on our best behavior, and dressed our best. That means for military, mess dress only, non-military that is tuxedos and evening gowns. If you need to buy one, we have SGC credit cards and a jumper ready to take you, try and go in groups so we don’t have to do so many flights. Nothing fancy, we’ve got the world leaders, partners and anyone else they deem necessary. No one’s going to be making a fashion statement.”

The last was said as more of a threat than a warning. The room was silent, before a wheeze and a couple coughs filled the room. It took a second for Rodney to spot Chuck and a couple of the other Canadian military looking a bit more pale than normally. 

“Problem?” Sheppard asked, looking at the gate tech with worry.

“Did you say partners?” Chuck asked, eyes wide. 

“Yes, they’ve being read in over the next couple of weeks,” Sheppard explained. 

Rodney didn’t envy Carter for dealing with that as her first job since taking over the SGC. Not one bit.

Rodney raised an eyebrow at them, sure he knew what the problem was. “What’s wrong?” he asked, keeping his face calm. 

“The Bulldog,” one of the Canadian marines said, eyes wide with shock or fear. Maybe wary excitement. It was hard to tell.

Sheppard blinked and Rodney forced himself to look serene when Sheppard glanced at him. “The Bulldog?”

“Yessir,” Chuck said, and Rodney swore he saw a flash of fear.

“You’re worried about a dog?” one of the other marines asked. 

“Oh no, no The Bulldog is General Frank Lavoie, he was the Major General for JTF2 when I was stationed with them.”

Rodney felt a moment of wary surprise at that admission. “Woah, you were special forces?”

Chuck nodded but didn’t say anything else and Rodney didn’t expect him too, the fact that he had mentioned it spoke to how rattled he was. Canada knew how to keep their secret forces, well _secret_.

“So he’s scary?” a different marine asked.

Rodney exchanged a look with Sheppard and both of them stayed quiet, interested to see what would happen.

“Fuck yes, but it’s not even that. He’s seen shit. If you fuck up, you acknowledge it and you fix it. He doesn’t accept defeat, he doesn’t give in and he doesn’t accept excuses. I saw him chew out a kid because he wouldn’t admit to being wrong about a decision he made during training. Another one was transferred when he wouldn’t accept responsibility for his actions in the field. He’s like a dog with a bone. .”

“Sounds like someone I know,” Sheppard muttered and Rodney glared at him. 

“There was a rumor that he got shot six times once and refused to die because he had to go and see his kids fucking science fair project or something. Showed up with his wounds self-stitched in time to see the kid win,” Chuck continued. “And to top it all off, he’s been married to the Prime Minister since they were eighteen or something.”

“Wasn’t she the one that told Kinsey he was the reason for the don’t iron while wearing label on clothes?”

Rodney snorted at that, biting the inside of his cheek. “I personally preferred it when she told one of the reporters to start covering global warming as an apology for wasting air,” he said quietly so only Sheppard could hear. 

Sheppard grinned and nodded. “That was a good one, you’re a lot better.”

Rodney rolled his eyes before putting two fingers into his mouth and whistling to get everyone’s attention, not wanting to spoil the surprise. “Not that this isn’t fascinating, and I do love it when Canada is clearly the center of attention, but there’s going to be more than the Prime Minister and her husband there, so moving on.”

Sheppard nodded and cleared his throat. “Code of conduct. Don’t fuck it up. None of you are stupid—”

“—I’d like to contes—”

“—none of you are stupid,” Sheppard repeated, speaking over Rodney. “You all know what is expected of you, both as representatives of your own countries, as well as representatives of the Atlantis Expedition.”

“Do you really want Teyla to give you the disappointed Mum glare?” Rodney cut in, looking around the room, ignoring the exasperated look Sheppard gave him. “It was good before she became one, now it just raises the guilt faster than the blood pressure of a diabetic in a candy store.”

“McKay,” Sheppard ground out.

“I’m not wrong, she’s really good at that.”

Sheppard held out his hands in supplication and looked up at the ceiling for a second before sighing. “As I was saying, you all know what you need to do, and so just do it. If you have any questions, please contact myself or Dr. McKay. Any questions so far?”

When it was apparent no one had, Sheppard dismissed everyone and the room cleared out among whispers, leaving Rodney and Sheppard together. 

“So, who do you think is going to fuck up?”

“Oh, one of us for sure,” Rodney replied. 

Sheppard glared at him. “That’s a vote of confidence.”

Rodney stepped forward and kissed Sheppard quickly, not being worried and being stupid about their relationship were two different things. “It’ll be me probably, I don’t have military training to fall back on,” he said trailing a hand up Sheppard’s spine, smiling when Sheppard pushed back into the touch. 

“And I’m not known for keeping my mouth shut,” he said with a shrug. “What are they going to do though? Fire me?”

Sheppard snorted and took a step away, reluctance at the action plain on his face. “One day someone is going to take you up on that challenge.”

“The day someone thinks firing me is a good idea is the day I don’t want to work for the SGC anymore.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Lorne doesn’t know what to do with me,” John admitted as soon as Rodney stepped into thei-his room later that evening. 

Rodney stopped just through the doorway and his mind shifting gears from science to Sheppard. “What do you mean?”

“He kept trying to get me to let him lead one of the exploratory groups today, saying it wasn’t smart for the CO to be putting himself in danger.”

Rodney snorted and shook his head, kicking off his shoes, dropping his jacket and tablet onto the desk and collapsed onto the small couch, stretching out with a back-cracking groan. “We killed his brain.”

“Apparently,” John said moving to drop down onto the couch next to Rodney. “It’ll get worse before it gets better.”

“It’ll get better once we’re back in the Pegasus galaxy,” he offered. “One misunderstanding and he’ll be really excited you’re out in the field.”

“Maybe,” John muttered slouching down and resting his feet up on the coffee table. “Or maybe I’ll stay.”

Rodney stiffened and looked at John. “Want to run that by me again?”

“Come on, we’re being optimistic, it might be true,” John muttered, arms crossed against his chest petulantly.

Rodney felt a flash of rage surge through him and he turned, grabbing the front of Johns shirt and giving him a hard shake. “Don’t be a fucking dumbass,” he said voice low and hard. “We’re going back, both of us, so get your head out of your ass and deal with it. Lorne’s getting used to the idea, and he’ll come around.”

“Fuck off McKay,” John said, trying to pull away, only to be stopped by Rodney’s grip on his shirt. “You know as well as I do it’s a possibility.”

“Anything’s possible, but possibility does not equate to likelihood.”

“I think this is a little bit more possible than most.”

“No, and if you think that then you’re as dumb as your Dad thought you were.”

John’s face clouded with anger and shoved Rodney back. “Fuck off.”

“No, I won’t,” Rodney said crossing his arms over his chest and glaring right back. “You’re being a dumbass and I’m going to call you out on it.”

John turned his head and didn’t say anything else, clearly believing in it and Rodney let out a frustrated huff. “Of all the stupid stubborn jarheads I had to fall in love with it was you,” he said, not bothering to lower his voice. 

The jarheads comment caused John to turn and glare at him. “Not a marine.”

“No shit,” Rodney snapped back, hands moving to frame John’s face, fingers digging in to hold his head in place.

If he wanted, John could pull away, Rodney knew how to take care of himself these days, but John had years of training and experience that Rodney would never catch up on. Rodney was glad when John stayed where he was, every line of his body radiation tension and anger. He might believe what he was saying, but deep down he wanted to be convinced otherwise. It was as obvious as breathing to Rodney. Rodney sighed, forcing down the anger. He leaned in, kissing unresponsive lips before moving to kiss both cheekbones and then his forehead.

“You’re such a fucking blonde sometimes I swear,” Rodney murmured keeping his lips pressed against Johns forehead. He felt John tense but he still didn’t pull away. “There is no way, none at all that that will happen. You’re happy here, you’re the best CO for this base, and your men love you, so do my scientists. We’re doing good work here, and they’ll see that. Our record speaks more than anything else.”

John didn’t say anything and Rodney wasn’t surprised. The man hadn’t met a sentence he hadn’t wanted to blow up so it went away. He kissed his forehead again before dropping and kissing him on the mouth again, getting a little bit back. “We belong here, you and me and our team, the fucking four beating chambers of Atlantis’s heart. Woolsey and Carson are those little valves that keep it flowing properly.”

That earned him a snort, Johns shoulders relaxing a little. “That’s both the most romantic, and the dumbest thing you’ve said in a while.”

Rodney smiled. “Despite a propensity for black turtlenecks that one semester, I’m not a poet.”

“I liked the turtlenecks.”

“Some of us don’t have the jawlines for them. I only kept them because you liked stealing my turtlenecks.”

“Still do. Your shit’s always soft. Hedonist,” John said.

“Ohhh someone looked at their word of the day calendar.”

John shoved at Rodney but the tension finally left his body, and he tilted his head back against the couch, looking at Rodney. “I couldn’t stand losing this place,” he admitted softly.

“You won’t.”

“Is that you or your ego talking.”

“We’re one and the same babe.”

John wrinkled his nose at being called babe but didn’t comment on it. “I’m…nervous.”

“No shit, so am I, you think this is any easier for me?”

John opened his mouth before grimacing and shaking his head. Rodney kissed him again. Right answers should always be rewarded. 

“It’s going to be fine,” he repeated. “Repeat after me.”

John glared mulishly at him and crossed his arms. Rodney kissed him again, only to bite down on his bottom lip hard, earning a snapped ‘hey!’

“Repeat after me. It’s going to be fine.”

“Fuck you McKay.”

“Maybe later. It’s going to be fine.”

Rodney put on his most stubborn expression, the one that made Woolsey wish he had more hair he could pull out and O’Neill look like he wanted to shoot something, or cry. John met his gaze steadily but eventually he let out a huff. 

“It’s going to be fine.”

Rodney kissed him again, positive reinforcement after all, making sure to lick over his bottom lip where he had bit down. John finally kissed back and Rodney relaxed the grip he had on Johns head. John moved, pushing him back against the couch arm as they made out, the tone of their interactions flip flopping as it often did with them.

“Gonna let me fuck you?” John asked, pulling back from the kiss long enough to take off both of their shirts.

“Offers always there,” Rodney said, tugging on John’s dog tags to pull him down into another kiss. “We get halfway to that point and you get so turned on fingering me that you want to get fucked instead.”

John scowled at him. “Not true.”

Rodney snorted. “Very true, nothing wrong with it,” he said, running his hands up and down Johns chest, pressing against the bruise he had left a couple days ago, mostly gone now and Rodney wanted to bite it into view again. “I’m a big fan of the begging for my cock, but sometimes a man wants to lay back and think of England.”

“You and your English mushy pea fetish,” John teased, and Rodney scowled at him, pinching his side.

“Just for that Colonel Cocktease, you get to go and get the lube.”

John grinned, obviously proud of himself as he stood up, pulling off his belt and dropping it to the side as he walked over to the side table. Rodney watched, enjoying the way John’s pants sat low, elongating his torso, the shift of his muscles visible across his back. Dropping a hand down, he pressed the heel of his hand over the bulge in his pants, feeling his arousal spike as John grabbed what they needed and walked back, each step seeming to pull his pants down even more, held up by a prayer and thin hipbones. 

“Hey, you wanna fuck my mouth while I finger you?” he offered, licking his lips at the sight of the bulge at the front of Johns pants. 

“I thought I was gonna fuck you,” John said aiming for pouty, but the hitch in his step betraying his need.

“You are, it’s just my mouth and not my ass,” he said, grabbing a pillow and shoving it behind his head to get comfortable, looking at John expectantly. 

He undid his pants and pushed them down, kicking them off and wrapping a hand around himself. He looked up and John and slowly licked over his bottom lip, jerking himself off slowly. It only took John a second to get with the program, his pants and boxers torn off, the lube pressed into Rodney’s hands as John straddled his chest. 

John’s had been the first cock he sucked, and even though it wasn’t the only, it was still his favorite. John didn’t waste time, shifting and moving up, Rodney opening his mouth as John pushed in. Long and thick, it filled his mouth perfectly, and really there was something to be said about teenage experiences shaping a person because Rodney had never found another cock that he liked in his mouth quite as much. 

It wasn’t hard for them to find a rhythm, Rodney had long since accepted his love of all things cock sucking and had given himself over to this pursuit of perfection with much passion and practice. Everything about this was familiarity born of closeness and that same practice, the slide in and out of his mouth, the way he tasted, the way John looked above him. It wasn’t the first time he had seen it, and Rodney would make damn sure it wasn’t his last. 

He sucked hard, working his tongue in tandem with John’s thrusts as he got his fingers slick with lube. He didn’t bother to wait, pushing two fingers deep into him, feeling John clench down around them and thrust harder into his mouth with a grunt. He sucked harder, letting out a happy hum, content to let John set the pace, fucking between his fingers and his mouth. 

“Oh fuck,” John gasped out, fingers clenching on the arm of the couch. 

Rodney could see John losing himself in the pleasure and just like every other time, he loved the selfishness of that action. The way John’s mind would float away and let himself take and take. Rodney wanted to give him everything, to keep that look of pure bliss on his face forever. John deserved it. He opened his mouth as wide as he could and tilted his head back more, feeling Johns cock nudge the back of his throat and he swallowed easily. His gag reflex had been one of the first things he had worked on controlling. If only for the wide-eyed look of surprise John still got when the angle was better and he could slide all the way into his throat. 

They weren’t in the best position, but Rodney didn’t care and neither did John, if the short gasping breaths were any indication. Rodney watched as John dropped his head down between his arms, chin resting on his chest and eyes open, staring at where his cock was sliding in and out of Rodney’s mouth. He could feel the tension in the legs on either side of his torso and when John pulled out of his mouth the next time and fucked back onto his fingers, he twisted them, searching for the spot and knew he had found it when John clenched down and fucked his hips forward into Rodney’s mouth. 

He let out another hum, this one pleased beginning to fuck his fingers into John harder, meeting his thrusts this time, wanting to make John lose control. 

“More, please more fuck, please more,” John started chanting, abs clenching as he worked his body faster. 

Rodney pushed a third finger into John, not able to deny him anything, not when he looked like some sort of ancient Greek god above him, the planes of his body long and golden. He could feel how hard John was in his mouth, could taste him and he wanted to taste more. He kept his fingers deep in John, moving with his hips, rubbing against the spot, not letting up as Johns hips began to lose their rhythm. He sucked harder, tongue pressing under the head, where he knew John was most sensitive and that was enough.

“Oh fuck, fuck fuck,” John said as he began to come, whole body shaking and shuddering as Rodney’s mouth was filled. He swallowed easily, sucking hard, wanting to make sure he got everything. He kept his fingers deep, feeling John clenching down around him. 

He wanted to prolong John’s orgasm, make him shudder and moan even more, but he was suddenly aware of how hard he was, the feel of John’s ass around his fingers and the taste of him in his mouth. Pulling his fingers out, he pushed John onto the floor, ignoring the squawk of irritation as the other man landed. He followed him, hands grabbing John’s hips and rolling him until he was on his stomach. It only took a second for John to get with the program, legs spreading and hips pushing back. Rodney grabbed the pillow he had been resting on and shoved it under John’s hips, taking enough time to slick up his cock before gripping Johns ass and pushing into him hard and fast.

He didn’t stop, didn’t let John adjust, just hiked up his hips even before and started fucking into him, eyes focused on the slide of his cock in and out of John. He could hear his lover panting and moaning, back arching more and more, probably too sensitive but taking it. 

“Fuck John,” Rodney growled out, pulling Johns hips back into each thrust, overcome with the need, wanting to get deeper. “Look at you, taking it so good for me, always so good for me. Fuck you’re perfect, wanna spend the rest of my life fucking you.”

John’s fingers scrabbled, trying to find purchase on the slick metal floor, and his knees slid wider, allowing Rodney to sink even deeper. Rodney could feel himself getting close, the orgasm building at the base of his spine and his skin prickling with pleasure. He could feel John trying to squirm and he dug his fingers even harder, keeping John’s hips steady as he fucked into him, knowing he would leave bruises but he didn’t care.

“Rodney,” John groaned, his hands curling against the floor, and he could feel him clench down around his cock, heading into over sensitive territory but he didn’t tell him to stop, just kept moaning his name as Rodney fucked into him. 

“John,” he replied, dropping his head down and focused on the sensations. “So close fuck,” he said.

That seemed to be a cue, John clenching down hard and arching his back on Rodney’s next thrust and that was enough. He was coming with a cry, pulling John back hard as he shoved forward one last time, grinding against his ass as he came deep inside of him. John kept clenching down around him, wringing more pleasure out of Rodney. 

Eventually the orgasm subsided, and he let out a moan as he pulled out carefully, dropping down to the floor next to John. He clipped the coffee table with his shoulder but he didn’t care, collapsing and managing to get on his back. He laid there for a few moments, panting and trying to catch his breath before he turned his head. John hadn’t moved, hips still held up the pillow, knees wide and cheek pressed against the floor, a look of drunk pleasure and satisfaction on John’s face.

He reached out, trailing the backs of his knuckles against John’s cheekbone, causing the other man to open his eyes and smirk. He kept the backs of his fingers pressed against his cheek, not wanting to drop the connection between them.

“Yeah, that was me begging to be fucked,” John teased. 

Rodney hummed and shrugged, not really finding the energy to do much else. “You know I love my blow jobs,” he said unashamed. 

John grinned, the corner of his mouth curling up against Rodney’s knuckles and his eyes closed. “I know.”

Rodney’s eyes traveled down over John’s body, resting on his ass, still tilted towards the sky and he licked his lips as he got an idea. “Don’t suppose I could convince you to sit on my face?”

John groaned and shifted, squirming where he was. “Christ McKay,” he muttered, opening one eye. “Let a man have his afterglow.”

“This is my afterglow,” he countered. “Your ass, my face.”

“My legs don’t work right now.”

“So, hold onto the couch.”

“ _McKay_.”

“You’re not saying no you know,” he said, tracing his fingers over Johns cheek again, this time moving down to trail over his lips. “Think of it is a pre clean up, we can save water in the shower.”

Johns head moved, teeth wrapping around the knuckle of his index finger and bit down hard, causing Rodney to yelp. “I’m sensitive,” he said letting go of his knuckle, leaving teeth indentations in its place.

“Which is why it’ll be my tongue not my fingers, won’t be as bad.”

“Why do you have energy?” John asked with a groan.

It wasn’t the first time he had asked this, and wouldn’t be the last. Most of the time, Rodney usually had about two minutes of feeling the afterglow before he was energized, ready to keep going with his day. It made having sex before bed both the best and worst thing. He could never sleep after, but he always got a lot of good work done. Or he wanted to have sex again, it was a toss-up each time which way he would go. By contrast, John just wanted to go to sleep, his whole body lose limbed and relaxed in a way he wasn’t usually. 

“Johnnn,” he cajoled, he never whined. 

“Rodneyyyy,” John repeated his tone back to him and okay, maybe it was a little bit of a whine. 

“Come on,” he said, his hand sliding down what he could reach, unable to help himself. Not when there was miles of sexy Colonel next to him. “You know you wanna.”

“You know I need to sit tomorrow, we’ve got the two-week-till meeting,” John said and Rodney grinned, knowing he had won.

“I’ll be careful, tongue only, no fingers I promise. And I won’t fuck you again”

John gave him a look that clearly said he didn’t believe him but pushed himself up with a groan. “I hate you.”

“Uh huh,” Rodney said, shifting out from where he was half under the coffee table, licking over his lips as John shuffled up and to get into position. Rodney gripped John’s hips, helping him and titled his head back as John straddled his face, using the grip on his hips to pull John’s ass back so he could press his tongue in, settling in with a happy hum.


	6. Chapter 6

“I hate you,” John muttered as he carefully lowered himself into the chair next to Rodney the next morning. 

For once, they were the first to the meeting and Rodney didn’t bother to hide the smug smile. He had spent a long-time eating John out last night, until a second erection caused him to suffer short term memory loss that ended up with John on his back, bent in half and getting fucked for a second time. 

“You could have stopped me,” he said reasonably. “Anytime, just a simple stop Rodney and I would’ve. Instead it was fuck you jesus don’t stop fuck you don’t stop please please please more.”

Rodney grinned, not wavering under the increased glare in the slightest. Of course, John might have been okay, if it hadn’t been for a couple hours ago when Rodney walked in on him braced against the wall in the shower, water beating down across his shoulders and running down his back and legs. That time John ended up half bent over and braced against the shower wall, Rodney fucking him for a third time.

“Really it’s your own fault for being so damned attractive,” Rodney felt the need to point out. “And it’s not my fault your favorite words are harder and faster.”

Rodney reached for his coffee and slid the chocolate croissant he had grabbed for John to him. John didn’t say anything, just glared at him some more, but grabbed the pastry and began to tear it apart and eat it. John had never met a chocolate pastry he wouldn’t die for, secretly at least. John had to maintain his my-body-is-a-temple-of-gruel-and-tragedy image after all. Rodney didn’t say anything else, drinking his coffee as they waited for everyone else to arrive. He heard footsteps approach and he leaned in closer.

“Besides, you like the reminder,” he said keeping his voice low. “Like walking around with that ache, knowing it was my cock that did it to you. And you know as well as I do it’ll keep reminding you of me all day until at some point, I’ll get shoved into a room and you’ll beg me to fuck you again despite it all, because you’re so turned on at the memories you can’t help yourself. It’s a self-perpetuating system.”

He pulled back just as Woolsey stepped into the room, John’s cheeks now ruddier, breathing shallower.

“I. Hate. You,” John said under his breath, fingers tearing at the croissant before shoving a piece in his mouth.

Rodney grinned unrepentantly. “Good Morning Mr. Woolsey!”

Woolsey stopped in the doorway at the chipper tone and looked between the two of them, Rodney all but vibrating in his seat and Sheppard glowering, before shaking his head, clearly not going to ask. “Good morning Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay.”

The rest of the room filled up, chatter filling the room until everyone had arrived and Woolsey called it to order.

“Alright, we’ve got two weeks until the event and I want to know how everything is going,” Woolsey asked, tapping something on his tablet. 

“Colonel?”

“We’ve got the last of the marines getting measured for their new uniforms this week,” Sheppard began, brushing off his fingers and tapping at the laptop in front of him. “Aside from that, everyone knows what they’re doing. We might be a bit more informal out here than in most bases, but we all know what to do. We’re going to start practicing formational drills next week, which will be interesting.”

“How come?” Woolsey asked. 

“Everyone’s military is different, we need to move in unison but we also need to account for different styles, so Lorne and I are going to figure out a happy medium for everyone,” Sheppard explained. “I talked to O’Neill and apparently the SGC hasn’t dealt with anything like this so it’s not like there’s a SGC standard since they’ve been predominantly American for so long. However, with a more international focus happening O’Neill said I had free reign to figure it out and to let him know so they can institute it.”

Rodney snorted. “He just wants you to do all the work.”

Sheppard shrugged. “Maybe, but we need to do it so he might as well take advantage of it.”

“You should make it really difficult.”

Sheppard seemed to consider this for a second. “Nah, he’d make me gate in and train everyone if I did.”

Woolsey nodded and turned his attention to Rodney. “And you Doctor?”

“I made a homework packet for everyone and they’ve been studying it. Etiquette and all that other froufrou bullshit. My scientists are going to read it, love it, and then I’m going to quiz them on it until they know it like the back of their hand.”

“You would my drill instructor proud,” Sheppard said dryly. 

Rodney rolled his eyes but didn’t respond. “I’ve also sent copies to the support staff, medical staff and Ronon and Teyla have it as well. I’m not in charge of them learning it though. I’m going to have enough trouble with my merry bunch of brats.”

“You say that with such love in voice,” Zelenka said, voice bland.

“Is love the word we were going for?”

“Well not distain anymore so is love in world of Rodney I think.”

“I prefer to think of it as acceptance of my fate.”

“Gentlemen,” Woolsey said not even sounding tired. It had taken some time, but Rodney thought they had finally broken the IOA member in. 

Rodney waved a hand. “Yes yes, I’ll have all of my merry lovable scientists ready to deal with the big bad political bellwether’s in time don’t worry.”

“Bellwethers?” Sheppard asked suddenly. “Really?”

“Well I think it’s a better name for the IOA, castrated ram and all, minus you Mr. Woolsey, you’re not as bad, you deserve your balls.”

“Thanks,” Woolsey said dryly. 

“You’re welcome.”

Woolsey waited a moment before turning to Jennifer and Carson. “And you two, I know you will have less people but are they aware?”

Jennifer nodded. “They all know, Rodney’s little book will be helpful.”

“McKay’s Manifesto to Mastering Manners,” Sheppard said suddenly. 

Rodney grimaced. “Really? Manifesto?”

“The alliteration sells it.”

“Alliteration isn’t as impressive as people make it out to be.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s just stupid situational sentences that people ponder pathetically in attempts to impress idiotic individuals out of some sort of mindless moronic misanthropic masterplan.” 

Rodney grinned at Sheppard and his blank unimpressed look. He reached for his coffee and took a long mouthful, finally breaking the gaze to look around the rest of the table.

“I used to be paid a lot to be a lawyer you know,” Woolsey said finally.

“You’d miss me if I was gone,” Rodney pointed out. “You all would.”

“Would hide tears in pillow every night,” Zelenka said dryly. 

“That’s it?”

“Would prefer something else?”

“Yes, I think I deserve at least one public breakdown, your life would be nothing without me.”

“Fine, you die, I drop to knees in middle of mess hall and cry dramatically why a few times, then move on with life.”

“Thank you, I think that’s the least I deserve.”

“A lot of money,” Woolsey reiterated, rubbing over his face, before calling the meeting back to order. 

* * *

The next two weeks passed quickly, everyone working on getting the base set up. 

Everything was cleaned, even Rodney had gotten down and helped scrubbed the floor after a lot of bitching. It was stupid because they had little bots that did the work twice as well, and probably cleaned up their cleaning.

“There’s a reason Atlantis has cleaning bots; do we really think we’re doing a better job?” Rodney asked storming into Woolsey’s office after two hours of scrubbing the tiles. 

Woolsey sighed. “No, but if we look like we cleaned it then it looks cleaner.”

“We’re on an alien space city from another galaxy, we could throw dirt everywhere and say it was part of the décor and no one could bitch.”

“Just, help,” Woolsey sighed. 

The mess hall was decorated.

“It looks like Martha Stewart threw up in here,” Rodney said standing at the threshold. 

John was standing next to him. “It’s not that bad.”

Rodney grimaced. “It looks like a hive ship with all the floaty shit.”

“Don’t tell anyone that.”

“Why, maybe the IOA would feel emotional for once, it might do them some good. They can be real humans now. Ohh, we should swing past Todd’s cell while they’re here. So, they can see a live Wraith.”

“We’ve moving him to a SGC cell for the time being.”

“Is that smart?”

“None of this is smart McKay, I just do what I’m told.”

The menu and the alcohol were sorted out. 

“There’s nothing wrong with buffalo wings and a keg,” Rodney bitched at John.

‘Yeah, but I can’t exactly see the Queen doing a keg stand can you?”

“I mean no, but I would pay a lot to see it.”

“And besides, the last time you did a kegger you ended up in the ER with a dislocated shoulder.”

“Well if _someone_ hadn’t dropped the ball about holding my legs up because they got distracted talking to one of those sorority girls.”

Four days were dedicated to standing around and making sure everyone knew what they were doing. The first two days were a bit of a shit show as the military got used to standing next to people they weren’t used to standing too. Lorne and Sheppard had done a good job and when they finally got everything in order it looked good, and Rodney could see the proud looks on both of their faces.

“Straight lines people, I know some of you aren’t in the real sciences but I’m sure you can figure it out,” Rodney called, watching as the lines his people were in finally straightened out.

“Oh look, we finally look functional.”

“So, what now?” someone called from the back.

“Now, you stand there and look pretty while Sheppard and I shake so many hands we’ll probably set of the Quarantine lockdown. Some of you might be acknowledged by your respective government leaders, but just smile, say thank you, bow or shake a hand whatever you’re supposed to do and then go back to your spot. We’re basically the Miss Universe pageant now, so everyone shoulders back, eyes forward and pretend we’re begging for grant money again.”

There had been a thee day discussion about what they should do about music, they couldn’t bring in a band, and while a lot of people played intruments, none of them were good enough to play for the world leaders. They finally settled on some Ancient radio they had found back in the third year that played what Rodney assumed was Ancient elevator music. 

John walked in half way through the Rodney forcing his lab to listen to it, wanting to make sure that there were no dying screams half way through. Or that it wasn’t giving off undetectable sound waves that would fry his brain. He was sure he had some extra cells to go around and wouldn’t notice any problems right away, but it would most definitely be more noticeable for his scientists. 

Rodney not so privately thought that it would be a good thing if there were some dying screams, it would add some variety. 

“What’s this?” John asked, stopping half way in and tilting his head to the side.

“Ancient music, we’re playing it for the party.”

John’s face twisted into an expression of masked disgust, aiming for polite. “Really?”

Rodney nodded. “Really.”

John let out a snort and dropped his hands on his hips as he listened a little while longer. Rodney finally reached over and turned it off, not wanting to listen to another moment of it. He dropped his head into his hands and groaned. 

“We’re going to need more alcohol.”

“Be cool guys, Kenny G was an ancient,” Simpson said. 

“It’s not that bad,” John said diplomatically, his face betraying his true thoughts.

“Sure, if you want to sway on the dance floor like a bunch of finger snapping fuckwits doing slam poetry in some lung cancer producing club.”

Three days before the event, the Master of Ceremonies showed up, an officious looking man who Rodney told John looked like he wanted to be Albert Pennyworth in his perfectly pressed penguin suit, but was more like Pennywise the Clown with his red hair, pale skin and receding hairline.

Of course, it had been in the middle of the meeting and Johns braying laughter was not subtle, and the whole event had not gone over well, especially when asked, Rodney told the man what he had said. 

“If people ask questions they should expect to get answers,” Rodney fumed to John later in the evening after he was pulled aside for a two-hour meeting with the IOA and O’Neill over proper conduct and what was expected of him as a member of the SGC. “It’s like they don’t know me at all.”

“You’re just being more of a dick than usual to stress out the IOA.”

Rodney grinned and dropped onto the bed next to John. “Would I do that?”

“Absolutely, admittedly they think they’ve got this in the bag but they’re also worried about you making them look bad.”

“Christ, they could make Satan look like Jesus and they’re worried about me? Sanctimonious dickheads. Excluding Woolsey, naturally.”

“Oh, Naturally.”

“Do you ever get weirded out by fucking with Johnny Cash looking down at us?”

John was silent, looking up at the poster with clinical eyes. “Not sure, wanna see?”


	7. Chapter 7

Rodney hated suits.

Give him comfortable loose pants and an old t-shirt any day of the week. The best thing about being on Atlantis was the propensity for everyone to always wear BDU’s and he was fine with that. He wanted to give the military all bonuses for that little trend they had started. He woke up, he put on one of the many revolving pairs of identical BDU pants, a t-shirt and he went to work. He didn’t need to worry about matching, shades of gray, blue and tan all worked together, and he knew he looked pretty good in them as well. 

He did miss some things, like the orange fleece that was at the bottom of some bag that had been lost at an airport and never found. Some of his older sweaters from college that didn’t fit anymore, or worn thin and fallen apart. 

“Remember that sweater I had in college, the old blue one that I found at the thrift shop?” Rodney asked as he pulled on his pants, grimacing at the way the fabric clung to his thighs.

It didn’t help that the tailored suit meant that he was stuck wearing boxer-briefs that made his balls feel like they were in a sauna vice. He had had torture sessions that felt better than this. He thought fondly of running for his life, in Pegasus, with arrows chasing him. Clearly, this whole event was making him crazy. 

“Yeah, what about it?” John called from the bathroom where he was combing his hair down into something formal. No doubt using enough hair gel to slick up the entire male population of New Jersey.

“What happened to it?”

“I took it when I went to the Academy.”

“What?” Rodney asked, pulling his shirt on and walking to the bathroom door as he began to do up the buttons. Fiddly little fuckers. 

John was standing in front of the mirror, dressed in a tight pair of black briefs and nothing else. It would be distracting enough, if it wasn’t for the scowl as he as the struggled with a comb and a bottle of gel that Rodney privately though smelled like superglue. It probably wasn’t that different knowing John’s hair. 

“It was warm and I get cold easily.”

“That was my favorite sweater! It fit my shoulders and my waist back then, do you know how hard it was?”

“I remember triangle man.”

“That’s uncalled for.”

“Acute when we were dating, obtuse when we weren’t, and never right.”

Rodney favored John with his own unimpressed look, and John just grinned back at him. 

“I also knew I was going to miss you so I took it.”

“That’s disgusting adorable.”

John finally finished, his hair in a perfectly parted and neat comb over. He had shaved earlier, taking his time with a straight razor to get a close shave. 

“You look weird.”

“Thanks McKay.”

Rodney shook his head as he finished doing up the buttons on his shirt. “No, no, just your hair. Rest looks great, your hair looks. Well it looks dead,” he said shrugging. 

Rodney, because he was a grade A asshole and knew it, stepped closer to the mirror and grabbed the comb. Using whatever of the industrial grade super glue John called hair gel left on it, he combed his hair down in a couple quick strokes, making sure it was even. John rolled his eyes and Rodney smirked. 

John moved back into the living room, Rodney following and watching as he began to carefully pull out his uniform, not wanting to mess up the three hours’ worth of ironing he had done earlier. 

That had been a last-minute scramble yesterday after the realization they only had two irons and a lot of marines who needed to use them. Rodney was sure the salesperson at the department store had thought the two marines they had sent to buy as many irons as they could had been crazy. 

“I know, and it’s going to be weird in a couple of hours, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I’m not getting a haircut.”

“I mean you really should have.”

John shook his head. “It’s one night so I’m not worried.”

Rodney tucked his shirt into his pants and finished getting them done up, feeling the tighter waist band. He looked in the mirror he had dragged into the room, glad to see that despite a tighter waist than he liked, they didn’t dig in awkwardly or highlighted the fact that he was almost forty. Not that it mattered considering they were required to wear cummerbunds as well.

“I hate suits.”

“Looks good though,” John said, leering at him as he pulled on his pants.

“Do you have too?” Rodney asked, reaching over to pat Johns ass before it was covered up. “The briefs make it look like you almost have an ass.”

“Don’t be an ass.”

“It’s the truth,” he said grabbing for the cummerbund and wrapping it around his waist.

“You don’t seem to mind when you’re fucking me through the floor.”

“Well no,” Rodney admitted, watching as John pulled on his undershirt and tucking it in before pulling on the dress shirt and beginning to do the buttons up. “I’m a fan of that ass any which way, but the briefs made it look, you know, rounder.”

“Not all of us were born with an ass made for sitting McKay,” John said with a smile as he finished with his shirt and tucked that in, doing up his pants and grabbed his own cummerbund. 

“I take offense at that,” Rodney said as he sat down on the bed to pull on his socks and shoes, making sure they were tied and his pants would sit properly. 

“No, you don’t.”

“Not really, but I could,” he said standing and grabbing the bowtie, moving to stand in the mirror so he could do it up. 

“Here,” John said a second later, coming to stand in front of him.

“I can do it you know,” he said, but he dropped his hands down and lifted his chin, letting John fiddle with the stupid piece of fabric. 

“I know, but you know,” John shrugged.

“I don’t, you know,” Rodney said copying the shrug. 

“Just let me help dumbass,” John said, his voice a bit softer and Rodney smiled, not giving him anymore shit.

He remembered when John had first shown him how to tie one of these, years ago when they were teenagers and going to one of John’s myriad of cousin’s overdone weddings. 

John tied it quickly, thin fingers working efficiently, flipping down his collar and smoothing over Rodney’s shoulders and chest when he was done. “Looking good McKay,” he said pulling his hands back.

Rodney smiled and reached for John’s hand, tugging him for a careful quick kiss, not wanting to mess up John’s uniform, and a little afraid to get near his hair. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Rodney finished getting dressed, pulling on the coat and putting on his cufflinks. He grimaced as he finished, already feeling warm and uncomfortable, his feet felt pinched and he was sure he looked like an idiot. He didn’t mind a nice suit, he looked pretty fucking good in a well-tailored suit, but for some reason he had never felt as good in tuxedos.

“At least we didn’t have to go full penguin suit,” Rodney grouched. 

“You look like shit in those,” John offered and Rodney scowled and he turned. 

Anything he was going to say dried up as he caught fight of John, fiddling with the sleeves to get them to fall properly under his jacket, fully dressed and looking both amazing and odd at the same time. 

Rodney took a step closer, smoothing over the lapel of the jacket, more to touch than to fix anything. He double checked the shoulder boards and medals on his chest, making sure they were all sitting properly. “I really think you look better in the service dress, but this is a good second.”

“Oh?”

“Mmhmm, just sexier over all.” Rodney smiled at John who smiled back.

“I prefer it as well, less hassle, and there’s a hat.”

“The hat is important,” he said frowning at his hair. “You look like you but you also don’t and I hate it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Functionally, I understand that you’re an officer of the USAF, but half the time you don’t wear rank on Atlantis and I don’t forget it, but it doesn’t always register. But now, you look like you’re ready to wine and dine DC and it just doesn’t suit you.”

“I thought you said it was sexy,” John teased.

“Oh, it is don’t worry, and I’ll be visually peeling you out of it all night, but it’s just, this is the Colonel John Sheppard of the USAF, and I prefer the Colonel Sheppard of Atlantis.”

John was silent for a moment before he nodded, leaning forward and kissing Rodney chastely. “I understand what you mean.”

“It’s all the hair I think,” he said after a little bit more consideration. “The hair has no personality right now, it’s not right.”

“My hair is not sentient.”

“We live in the Pegasus galaxy, you cannot guarantee that anymore.”

“McKay,” John said with a laugh. “Don’t change yeah?”

“Too much work,” Rodney said, reaching down to squeeze John’s hand. “Now come on, I want to go and see how many knives Ronon’s managed to hide in his suit.”

John squeezed his hand back as they headed for the door.

“Hey Rodney?”

“Hmm?”

“You look pretty damn sexy yourself.”

Rodney grinned. 

* * *

“Only ten?” Rodney said, affecting a disappointed tone. “I was expecting at least twenty, you’re slipping.”

Ronon rolled his eyes. “I can make it nine if you want,” he said attempting to look menacing and leaned in. 

Rodney rolled his eyes, Ronon’s glares had stopped working about two years ago. And it was hard to take seriously while Sheppard was retying the bow tie Ronon had mangled in his attempts. 

“Stop moving,” Sheppard said, tugging Ronon by the collar back to where he was and finishing it off, flapping the collar down and tugging on the front of his jacket. “There all done.”

“Why do you people wear collars when you dressing up?”

“It’s not a collar it’s a bow tie, there’s a difference,” Rodney explained.

“And that is?”

“Perception mostly.”

“it’s dumb.”

“It is, and you keep on fighting the man, just not tonight,” Sheppard said tugging Ronon’s hand away from where he was trying to loosen it. 

“On Sateda we wear the skins of the Wraith that we killed,” Ronon said. “The feeding hands make for good sleeve openings.”

“That’s a load of bullshit, but please tell Mr. Coolidge that when he gets there,” Rodney said. “And preferably where I can see it.”

“McKay,” Sheppard said disapprovingly, even though he fought a smile.

“Listen, if people listen to dumb shit and believe it, that’s on them, not me.”

Sheppard rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything else, dropping his arms down to his sides and standing stiffly, clearly as uncomfortable in his suit as Rodney was in his own, although he thought he was being more obvious about it.

“Woah Colonel, didn’t recognize you without the hair,” Teldy called out as she came and stood next to them. 

Sheppard rolled his eyes, but swept up and down Teldy, double checking everything was in place. “Ready Major?”

“Sure sir, I just need to stand behind you and look pretty, I have the easy job,” she replied, shrugging. 

The greeting room was more than half filled now, more and more people trickling in. Rodney was glad to see that almost everyone was in shades of blacks and blues; a couple dark greens gowns here and there. No one was making a fashion statement, and he was proud of them all. 

“McKay, San Francisco Zoo called, penguin fitting your description has been lost, should we call keepers?” Zelenka spoke, coming and standing with the group, resplendent in a dark navy suit with faint pinstripes. 

“Oh ha ha,” Rodney said rolling his eyes. “You wound me with your attempts at humor.”

Zelenka just grinned and greeted the rest of the group as Woolsey joined them looking like…well Woolsey. Seeing him in a suit wasn’t the most unusual thing in the world. He looked born to wear them, and a lot more comfortable than the rest of them were. Lorne was not far behind, identical to Sheppard except for the shoulder boards. 

“You look as uncomfortable as Sheppard does,” Rodney noted.

Lorne nodded. “Never actually worn one of these before,” he admitted. 

“They’re not that bad,” Sheppard said. “You should get used to them.”

“Yessir,” Lorne said clearly disbelieving. 

“I hate everything,” Cadman muttered as she and Carson joined the group, the latter wearing a dark black suit almost identical to Rodney’s.

For a second Rodney almost asked about a kilt, but remembered at the last second that the other Carson, the original Carson, had been buried in his family kilt and his mouth snapped shut. Carson caught the gesture anyway and seemed to understand, if the sad look on his face was anything to go by. Rodney mouthed sorry and made a mental note to buy Carson some bait and tackle while they were on Earth. The good shit that Carson never bought for himself because he was saving his money to rescue Wraith orphans. 

Fortunately, Teyla, Jennifer and the rest of his scientists arrived. Teyla was in a simple form hugging black gown, Simpson and Miko were both in simple black gowns and Jennifer had gone with a dark gray almost shiny material.

“Well don’t you all look resplendent,” Sheppard said, leaning in to press his forehead against Teyla’s in greeting and nodding to the rest of them. 

Rodney nodded, not disagreeing. “You guys did good,” he said, greeting Teyla as well. “Everyone looks lovely.”

“Practicing your ass kissing already?” Cadman asked. 

Rodney grinned and shrugged. “Gotta get warmed up, this does not come easy.”

“And here I thought you were a genius who could do anything?” Simpson teased him.

“We all have our Achilles heel, and mine is useless formality.”

“It’s not useless,” Sheppard argued. 

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Formality is a tool people with power use to force others to show respect to people who otherwise are not worth the respect.”

“Does this mean we don’t have to call you Doctor anymore?” Simpson asked.

“The only time any of you call me Doctor anymore is when you’re trying to kiss my ass to get something, so my point stands.”

“It’s a lovely ass,” Cadman said. “I can see why they want to kiss it.”

Rodney spluttered for a second before glaring, feeling his cheeks redden a little bit. “Cute,” he muttered, rolling his eyes.

“I’m sure the Colonel agreed with me, don’t you sir,” Cadman said, unrepentant.

Sheppard just shrugged, but he smiled slightly and winked at Cadman.

“Careful Cadman,” Rodney said. “Don’t want to show some ankle with that skirt, Carson might faint.”

“You wish you could see my ankles, they’re shapely.”

“Carson’s Scottish, you can’t trust what he says about things like that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Carson asked, sounding unsure if he should be offended or not.

“You scots are all rugged and strong, hill people. Cadman could have very large ankles and by Scottish standards they’d be shapely.”

“You’re bloody Scottish as well.”

“Only a bit, mostly French Canadian. We’re delicate.”

Even Rodney couldn’t help joining in the laughter that followed that. 

The conversation shifted to work, and how excited they were all going to be when this was over, waiting until the last stragglers came into the room, Woolsey, the IOA, Carter and O’Neill finally making an appearance.

“Do they know sir?” Lorne asked, looking towards the Committee members.

“Nope,” Rodney replied instead. “Or pretty sure not. I really hope they don’t. I have cameras everywhere, I can’t wait.”

“We should get ready,” Sheppard said, looking over at Rodney.

Rodney put two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that got everyone’s attentions. “Alright, let’s go people, line up, chapstick on, we’ve got asses to kiss.”

“You are a paragon of personal professionalism,” Sheppard muttered as he and Rodney moved to the front of the room where they would be greeting everyone.

Rodney could see the glares his way from the committee members, Woolsey and O’Neill looking resigned. He did feel a little bit of pride watching Carter try not to crack up. He stopped where he was supposed to be, watching as the different departments fluttered around until everyone was where they were supposed to be. 

“I prefer to consider myself a reigning reality restrainer.”

“Not your best.”

“I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”

Sheppard rolled his eyes and moved to deal with the military, Lorne by his side. Rodney focused on the scientists, waiting for them to settle down before clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. 

“Look, straight lines, congrats, we’ve all passed kindergarten. Next up, maybe some of you can add two and two and get four for once.” 

Rodney could see one of the IOA member’s cheeks flush with anger, but anything they was going to say was cut off by the chuckle that went through his group. Rodney knew the benefit of being the bad guy, he also knew the benefit of keeping things as normal as possible until the last possible minute.

“Alright, remember, you represent Atlantis, and everything we’ve accomplished in that Galaxy and everything we are going to continue to accomplish. The people coming through those doors are powerful, and have no doubt done things to benefit their countries, but we’ve saved whole fucking solar systems, we’ve saved countless planets from the Wraith, from Replicators and sometimes even from dinosaurs.”

“Blown a couple up as well,” Zelenka said not keeping his voice down.

Rodney flipped him off. “I aim for the stars when I fuck up.”

“Got rid of them as well.”

That got another chuckle and Rodney grinned as well. “You guys did good.”

“Awww,” Simpson said. “That’s almost sweet. Next you’ll say you’re proud of us.”

“You might want to go stand with the medical staff, you’re clearly delusional.”

Rodney clasped his hands behind his back and smiled at his staff, for a moment letting them see how actually proud of them he was. He wasn’t going to say it, they didn’t need their egos inflated, but a little taste never hurt anyone. He turned then, catching John’s eye and winked as the Master of Ceremonies walked in and called everyone to order.

“As the host country, The President will first walk in, the rest of the order has been chosen through a random lottery so no one is placed above the other,” he explained, for perhaps the twentieth time. 

Rodney didn’t bother to hide his eye roll, but he kept silent as he droned on, reexplaining things. They were the smartest people in two galaxies, they didn’t need to be told twice. At least not the people in this room, the ones who needed hand holding were isolated with a buffet of pizza, junk food, beer and video games. Rodney wished he was with them. 

A red carpet was rolled out, a couple of the marines who had been drafted into set up and clean up double checking that that carpet was flat and perfectly straight. Rodney thought the bright color was garish in Atlantis’s otherwise calming blues and grays. 

The separate groups were lined up along it, commanding officers standing in front so they could shake hands with the leaders as passed. The staff was arrayed behind them, everyone visible and easily able to move up front if needed. The IOA were the first in line, ready to greet their bosses. Military was next, Sheppard double checking that every single member was where they were supposed to be. Rodney’s scientists were next, along with the support staff since Woolsey was with the IOA and needed to be first to greet everyone as the Atlantis Expedition Leader. He cast one more look over his eyes and saw that everyone was where they were supposed to be. Not that he doubted it. 

Medical was next, one of the smaller groups, Carson and Jennifer looking terrified but competent. Which was normal for them really. Carter was next, representing the SGC in her capacity as the SGC Commander. Rodney really hoped that they had to do this next, it was unfair that _they_ had to be the ones to deal with this pageantry, sure they saved the world. But he would admit SG-1 had done it a couple times as well. 

General O’Neill was up last as Head of Homeworld Command. Teyla and Ronon were with them, and part of Rodney wondered if they would be okay, but stopped himself. He might not like General O’Neill, he had to admit he man was fair and would make sure things went well for them. 

The set up was a hodge podge of different styles, melded together to work for Atlantis and honestly Rodney loved it. It matched the city, four hundred loners and people who didn’t fit in, coming together to create one of the greatest bases of all time. And he wasn’t biased at all. 

“One minute,” the master of ceremonies called. 

“AT-ten-SHUN,” Sheppard’s voice boomed out, and Rodney felt even his spine straighten as the click of heels reverberated around he room, the military falling into perfect formation. He didn’t both checking behind him, knowing that his staff hadn’t moved. 

He had the best of the best after all.


	8. Chapter 8

“The President of the United States of America Josephine Simmons,” the Master of Ceremonies called, the door swishing open through some unseen command. 

Rodney wondered briefly how much the guy hated not being able to open the door before the President stepped into the room. 

She was dressed in a dark red off the shoulder gown that highlighted her 1940’s movie star good looks. With her dark hair done up in large curls pinned away from her face, pale skin and piercing hazel eyes, she stood out from the rest of her contingent. Her eyes snapped towards Sheppard and started stalking towards them, the click of her heels muffled by the carpet, but sounded like gunshots regardless.

Ma’am,” Sheppard said once she got closer, holding his salute without wavering. 

Rodney sometimes forgot his spine did that. 

“Madam President,” Coolidge said stepping closer, only for the president to blow past, stopping right in front of Sheppard and staring at him. 

The room fell silent, even Coolidge looked surprised at the brush off. Rodney could see the smugness start, and he smirked, knowing the fall would be long and painful. Coolidge’s eyes flashed towards him, triumphant, but faltering at Rodney’s smirk. 

The silence stretched, Sheppard and the rest of the military holding formation much longer than Rodney thought was necessary, but really, he wasn’t surprised. Sheppard learned how to hold a grudge somewhere.

“At ease,” she finally snapped, waiting for the military to move into parade rest, letting the silence stretch longer.

The dramatics of it. He could see the baited breath, everyone wondering at the bullet like approach to Sheppard followed by the lingering silence. Sheppard didn’t even squirm, his eyes carefully fixed over the Presidents shoulder. Rodney wasn’t surprised, he had seen the man calmly negotiating while under fire between three sides before. 

“Space,” she finally snapped, a Texan accent drawing the world out. 

“Yes ma’am,” Sheppard replied, keeping his face blank.

The President kept looking at Sheppard, mouth turned down.

“Really Johnny? Space?”

The finally got a twitch of his lips, but Sheppard for all his inability to follow orders when he disagreed with them, was still a military man through and through. Poker face was part and parcel of the whole gig.

“Space!”

“Yes ma’am.”

The silence stretched again before the President let out a sigh, sounding a little bit wetter than it had been before. She took a step back, and Sheppard finally let his eyes flick down to meet hers, smiling softer than he did with everyone else. 

“Christ Johnny,” she finally said, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking at him up and down. “We ain’t done talking.”

“No ma’am,” he replied.

She nodded and then took a step forward, hands moving up to smooth the front of his hair down. It hadn’t moved, but the action was so distinctly motherly than anyone who had been confused as to the relationship between the President and Sheppard would now know. 

“How in Sam Hill did you manage this?”

“Don’t ask ma’am.”

Rodney’s eyes looked towards Coolidge, and the smugness was gone, replaced by a gobsmacked look. Rodney didn’t even bother trying to hide his grin, he wasn’t known for his winning personality. He knew it was more than obvious now, no one in this room was that stupid. The President was almost as tall as Sheppard, and really, it was their own fault if they were surprised. John was a spitting image of her.

“McKay,” Rodney heard a harsh whisper and he turned, seeing a pained expression on O’Neill’s face as he looked towards Sheppard and his Mom. “Please tell me I’m hallucinating.”

Rodney shook his head. 

“Merry, I ain’t surprised you’re here,” Josephine snapped from right in front of him, startling him somewhat. 

Rodney was looking at O’Neill when she snapped at him, and he could see the pained expression turn into one of surprise. For all Josephine wasn’t going to act anything less than profoundly professional with the military, he was a scientist and wasn’t beholden to the same propriety rules. Sheppard and his mother had been raised in polite society and would never get into it in _public_. They would save it for later.

“Hey Fifi,” he said turning and stepped forward to give her a hug, ignoring the pained wheezing of the master of ceremonies. “You’re looking beautiful as ever.”

“Don’t you backsass me,” she snapped, returning the hug. “I ain’t happy with either of you, apparently running around all over the galaxy like you run the place.”

“I mean technically we...” he said, trailing off at the glare he got. “Okay okay,” he said holding his hands up in supplication. 

“Lord if I had the time…” she trailed off, hands on her hips, looking between them. 

Rodney glanced at Sheppard who was clearly biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling now. “I’m sure you’ll have time,” he said. “We’ve got to greet everyone else you know.”

Josephine snorted before turning and looking at Woolsey, who was fighting a smirk of his own, her voice settling down. “Mr. Woolsey, thank you for your hospitality, I look forward to speaking with you later. You have been doing a wonderful job, especially since I know you’ve had to deal with these two on a regular basis.”

That said, she turned to the rest of the military, most who were shooting glances at Sheppard who looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “I want to thank each and everyone one of you for what you’ve done to help Earth and her allies. From my understanding the job is tough, but you all conducted yourself with decorum in the face of danger. I look forward to speaking with all of you.”

Stopping in front of Rodney, she looked at the group behind Rodney. “If I know this dumbass, then I know you are all exceptional at what you know. Merry aint never dealt well with stupidity and if you’re here then I know you ain’t stupid, and thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do for the SGC program.”

“You say the sweetest things,” Rodney said grinning, not bothered by the glare in the slightest. 

Josephine stopped and greeted Jennifer, Carson, thanking their staff before talking to Carter and O’Neill and finally sweeping into the room, leaving a poignant silence in the wake. 

“Sheppard,” O’Neill said as soon as she was gone. “Was there something you forgot to mention.”

John shrugged. “No sir, everything you needed to know was in my file.”

“You didn’t think it was pertinent to tell us your mother is the President of the United States?” Coolidge asked, his voice an octave higher. 

“To be fair sir, she’s only been President for a few months, she was just the Governor of Texas when I joined the SGC,” John said. “And it is all in my file, her name and everything. It ain’t on me if you didn’t realize.”

John looked like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth and Rodney snickered, earning a glare from Coolidge. 

“And you Doctor?” he asked, voice tense. 

“What about me?” Rodney asked shrugging. “I’ve known Sheppard since we were babies.”

Coolidge opened his mouth only to be interrupted by the Master of Ceremonies again. “Presenting the Prime Minister of Canada, Marguerite Lavoie and her husband General Frank Lavoie.”

Rodney let out a gusty sigh, and straightened his back, glancing at Sheppard who was smirking at him, knowing this was not going to be pretty. Sheppard’s mother might want to hold their reunion in private, but his family had never bothered with subtlety. 

“Meredith Rodney McKay,” his mother’s voice boomed across the room before she even entered, causing more than a few people to jump. 

Loud Quebecois filled the room before he even spotted his mother, her words an angry cloud ahead of her. She was dressed in a plain black gown, classic and practical. She was taller than her husband, graceful in a way Rodney was never going to be. She was practical always, hair pulled back in a chiffon, make up subtle. As a kid, he had always thought she looked like a fairy, delicate and beautiful but a lot stronger than people anticipated. He might be built like his Dad, all shoulders and natural bulk, but he had his mother’s coloring, pale skin, blue eyes and dark blonde hair. He had also inherited her temperament and lung capacity, much to his father’s eternal headache.

“ _Now here I was, sitting down a few weeks ago and being read into an unbelievable program only to find your name. And certainly, it wasn’t possible, there was no way my beautiful baby boy was anywhere near reckless enough to get himself dragged into something this astoundingly insane, but oh no, not only do I find that you were part of this program, but you managed to get yourself assigned to another galaxy! Then I find out your drag your sister into this?_ ”

The rapid-fire French never stopped as his mother stalked across the room, not even bothering to stop and talk to the IOA, although Coolidge’s bright red face was looking a lot like a beacon. Rodney could see why maybe, sometimes, some of his underlings though he was loud. It was character building, they should appreciate it. 

“Bonjour Maman, Bonjour Papa,” he replied cheerily, trying to go for innocent and knowing he failed miserably. 

“ _Of all the irresponsible, reckless, useless ways to drag your sister into something dangerous…_ ” she trailed off when she caught sight of Sheppard who had brought his military to attention again while she had been stalking towards Rodney. 

“Of course, you’re here,” she said switching to English easily. “Christ on a fucking cracker, I don’t drink enough for this.”

“Ma’am,” Sheppard said.

“Don’t you ma’am me, only you two shits would managed to get assigned to the same damn base in another fucking galaxy, I swear to God you could drive the pope to murder.”

“Ma’am,” Sheppard said, earning him another glare. 

Marguerite turned and walked the last couple of steps towards Rodney and planted her hands on her hips. “Well?”

“Maman, flying alien city?”

It was interesting to see the same expression that was on his face as she geared up for another rant to start, only for it to stutter and her eyes fill with tears a second before he was wrapped up in a hug. He looked over her shoulder, seeing his Papa standing by Sheppard, worry in his eyes and he grinned. “It’s so cool,” he said letting himself be hugged. 

McKay’s were always more emotional than the Lavoie side of the family. It was the Scottish in them. Frank rolled his eyes and returned Sheppard’s salute before moving to shake his hand, speaking quietly to him. It took a few moments before his mother controlled herself and stepped back, wiping at the wet spot on his shoulder. 

“Oh, Christ look what I’ve done now,” she muttered, working to get her make up fixed.

“ _I’m fine_ ,” he said softly in French, keeping his eyes on hers. “ _I’m here, Sheppard’s here and we’re both fine, he made sure I didn’t get hurt_ ”

Marguerite glared at him, her anger coming back full force. “Fine?! He got sent forty-eight _thousand years_ into the future! In what world is that fine?”

“We got him back.”

“And what if it was you?”

“Then I’d get myself back.”

“You lost your goddamn mind!”

“I got that back as well.”

He met his mother’s gaze easily, not going to back down, not over this. Eventually she settled back and crossed her arms. “You and I are not done talking, and neither are we John. I assume your mother is inside?”

Sheppard nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“Good, I need a fucking drink,” she said, stalking off without another word to anyone else. 

Frank stepped closer and Rodney let himself be pulled into another hug, this one shorter and to the point. “Done good kid, we’re proud of you,” he said clapping Rodney on the shoulder, before looking at the assembled room. 

“Sergeant Campbell, good to see you again,” was all he said before heading into the mess room. 

Rodney grinned at the Sergeant who looked stunned. “It was eight and he missed the science fair.”

Chuck let out a pained wheeze.

“Carter?” O’Neill asked all of a sudden. “Am I in hell?”

“I think so sir,” she replied, looking shell shocked.

“McKay?” Coolidge asked, sounding shell shocked. 

“Yeah?” he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

“No, why McKay?”

“Oh, Maman’s maiden name, Papa was in Special Forces, they didn’t want to risk me and Jeannie,” Rodney shrugged.

Coolidge let out another pained wheeze, and Rodney could see the self-satisfied look on Woolsey’s face. 

“Any other family connections we need to know about?” O’Neill asked.

“My paternal Grandma was a Kennedy, but I don’t think any of them are going to show,” Sheppard said, innocent look on his face. “Ma’s ma was a Rockefeller, but they’re not going to show either.”

“You forgot the Vanderbilt's, Ford's and Carnegie's,” Rodney offered, mostly to be a shit.

“Yeah, but those are pretty far removed. You’ve got that French Royalty on your Dad’s side.”

Rodney waved a hand dismissively. “Most of them beheaded, and really there’s no French monarchy anymore so it’s all moot. Besides, I’m not the one who can trace his unbroken line back to the fucking Mayflower, nor am I co-owner of the biggest private company in North America.”

John shrugged. “Eh, Dave deals with all the business stuff now. Who needs the money?”

Coolidge whimpered. 

Rodney grinned widely and leaned in, not bothering to lower his voice. “This is going to be a great party,” he said clapping his hands together. “Seriously Mr. Coolidge, this was a great idea. I can’t wait to see everyone else.”

“See?” O’Neill asked sharply. “Not meet?”

“Always knew you were a smart one sir,” Sheppard said, rocking back and forth on his heels, rolling his shoulders. They had a lot more people to greet and Rodney knew Sheppard hated the shoes.

“I’ve spent most of my adult life doing fix it work for whoever offered me something interesting enough and paid me enough,” Rodney said. “The SGC is the longest and best job I’ve had don’t get me wrong, but if it wasn’t as interesting I would have quit a long time ago.”

O’Neill glanced between the two of them, his eyes settling on a still smug Woolsey before looking at the pale Coolidge. “Well, at least it’s not boring, also explains why Sheppard put up with you for so long.”

“Almost forty years sir.”

“You need a purple heart for that,” O’Neill said dryly.

“Rude,” Rodney said offended. “I’ve had to put up with him and his suicidal dumbassery for just as long.”

“It’s not that bad McKay.”

“Who decided to strap a fire extinguisher to a skateboard before going off a ramp?”

“You’re the one who rigged it so it had more oomph.”

“You’re both insane,” O’Neill said firmly, earning two identical glares.

“Hey Colonel,” Cadman asked suddenly from where she was standing next to Lorne. 

“Yeah Cadman,” Sheppard asked glancing behind him. 

“Do you have a code name? Since you’re first family and all that.”

Sheppard sighed. “Cain, my brother is Abel.”

“Seriously?” 

“Yep, Mama thought it was funny.”

“Presenting the Prime Minister of France, Michaël Vernier and his wife Lucienne.”

Sheppard and the rest of the military went back to saluting, greeting the rest of the world leaders. Rodney knew half of them personally and greeted them as they arrived, and the other half knew him by reputation. It was like he was in college all over again, showing off the shiny scientist for each country, thanking the Leader for sending them and how glad he was for their contribution. 

He knew his people were getting restless behind them, but they stayed where they were, arranged and waiting. The military had to be getting bored. They didn’t stand on ceremony in Atlantis, event he funerals had become less formal as people formed more bonds. Sheppard had never led like that, but they were standing in perfect lines, not moving a muscle. 

Rodney was proud, and he knew he and Sheppard needed to do something nice for them, they had just rolled with two large punches without any comments. 

Finally, the parade of World Leaders ended and John turned sharply on his heel, looking at his people. “Thanks guys,” he said, his shoulders relaxing. “Go and grab something to eat, be on your best behavior and if the President asks, I’ve never almost died. Or been turned into a bug.”

That got a small chuckle, the military heading into the room, leaving Lorne and Sheppard. Rodney turned and looked at his group, most of who were looking at him with varying looks of confusion and worry. 

“I am the product of my environment,” he said dryly, causing a couple weak grins. “Jeannie and I get the brains from both sides, so don’t act stupid,” he offered, shooing them towards mess hall, until only Zelenka was left.

“How many times you win argument as teenager?” Zelenka asked, looking nervously towards the mess hall. 

“About half the time,” Rodney admitted. “She’s louder but I’m more stubborn.”

“Jeannie, my brother and I used to take bets on who would win,” Sheppard offered, coming to stand next to Rodney. 

“Dr. Zelenka, Major Lorne, Colonel Carter, could you wait for us in the mess hall,” Coolidge snapped, stalking over to the group. 

The three nodded their heads and left, leaving Sheppard, Woolsey, Coolidge, O’Neill in a circle. Rodney crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the IOA leader and raising an eyebrow, waiting for him to start talking.

“What. Was. That?” Coolidge finally ground out. 

“What was what?” Rodney asked, feeling pedantic. 

“That was not what we agreed upon?”

“Why not?” Sheppard asked. “We were in formation, everyone behaved themselves, people were greeted and introduced respectfully. I thought it went off without a hitch, didn’t you?”

“I thought it went great,” Rodney agreed. “No one cried. Well almost no one, Maman cries easily. She’s very emotional.”

“You made me look like a fool,” Coolidge said, keeping his voice low and hard, anger clouding his face.

“You only recently read Canada into the SGC fully for the purpose of this meeting, and the President was only elected a few months ago. This is the first time we’ve seen our family in a while. What did you expect?”

“I expected to be kept in the loop.”

“Mr. Coolidge,” Rodney said, his own voice hard now. “Neither Colonel Sheppard nor I have ever hidden our family ties. We never flaunted them either, because we both want to stand on our own merit. Everything is in our files, if you chose not to review them, then that’s on you.”

Coolidge was turning red by now and Rodney leaned in a little bit. “No one in this group is stupid, we all know what you were trying to do. Your plan backfired, take the loss and walk away.”

“Neither of your parents seemed happy,” he shot back instead.

“That’s because our parents just found out we’re living in a different galaxy, surrounded by danger. I know a lot of people think my parents hated me and that is why I am the way that I am, but that is not the case. Both Colonel Sheppard and I have good parents who love us. They are unhappy because they are worried, not because they disapprove of anything we’ve done,” he continued. “Maman and Aunt Fifi won’t pull us from the city, we’re both adults and they understand this is our jobs. The same way we understand the risks they take as heads of state.”

Coolidge was fully red by now, his breath huffing out of his nose like a raging bull but Rodney wasn’t bothered. He just took another step closer and smiled. “We’re not going anywhere Mr. Coolidge, you lost, now go away.”

He waved a hand towards where the party was going, conversation and music drifting out. Rodney met Coolidge’s gaze, raising an eyebrow waiting for him to say anything. The stalemate continued for a second but Rodney didn’t budge, he had been sharpened on scarier things than an IOA member. Coolidge turned around suddenly and walked away, stalking to the room, bad grace a cloud around him.

“Well, he’s not going to last much longer,” Rodney mused, straightening up and taking a step back to stand next to Sheppard.

“Oh?” O’Neill asked. 

Sheppard shook his head. “Mama doesn’t handle sore losers well. You win, you lose, you handle both with grace and aplomb befitting a human being.”

“She has a cross stich of it above the window in her house,” Rodney said. “She’s gonna love Teyla.”

“How long till Uncle Frank gets in a boxing match with Ronon?” Sheppard asked.

“Oh Christ,” Rodney muttered. 

“This turned out well,” Woolsey interrupted and Rodney nodded.

“I gather you knew?”

Woolsey shrugged. “Like Dr. McKay said, it was never hidden, just not highlighted. Although Colonel Sheppard’s other family was a surprise. Was it all true?”

Sheppard grimaced. “Sheppard’s have a family genealogy that literally traces back to the Mayflower. Actually, before it, but Dad was never worried about Pre-America.”

“A Kennedy though?” O’Neill asked and John sighed.

“John’s a family name,” he admitted. “Third cousin, once removed.”

“The fact that you know that,” Rodney rolled his eyes. 

“And the rest?” 

“More cousins, the Sheppard’s have never been a household name, but we’re connected to a lot of them, through marriage and just business mostly. Dave does run the company, but I am the other majority shareholder, but he’s done good so I don’t bother him.”

“Did your mother get you out of your court martial?” O’Neill asked suddenly, eyes narrowing.

John shook his head. “Nah, they were both good about staying out of my career. Some people might have known my who my parents were, and maybe it did play into it, but neither of them wouldn’t do that. If I fucked up, I dealt with the consequences.”

“Christ,” O’Neill said rubbing his forehead. “And you as well McKay, really?”

Rodney shrugged. “Papa went on a lot of dangerous missions, made a lot of enemies and he wanted to protect me and Jean, so we got McKay.”

“You know I was there,” O’Neill said after a minute of digesting that. “When he got shot. It was a joint task force between the US, Canada and England. Eight bullets and he kept going, muttering about his kids’ science fair, I’m guessing that was you?”

Rodney nodded. “Wish he had been there, that was the one where I built the nuke. Maman was brokering some peace treaty or something and so the CIA picked me up and kept me for eight hours before she stormed in.”

“A nuke?” Woolsey asked. “For a science fair?”

“Sixth grade.”

“You built a nuke, in sixth grade.”

“It was nonfunctional, the plutonium hadn’t arrived.”

“You got plutonium?”

“It was the 70’s it wasn’t that hard really,” Rodney said. “I was in so much trouble. They didn’t let John visit that summer,” Rodney explained, jerking a thumb at Sheppard who frowned at the memory.

“Shit that was a boring summer.”

“You’re telling me,” Rodney said.

“I should have retired,” O’Neill said rubbing his hands over his face. 

“Are you boys about done?” a voice from the door sounded and the four of them turned, spotting Josephine in the door, a drink in hand. “There’s dancing a foot and my son owes me and I am sure Margie wants to see Rodney.”

“Yes ma’am,” O’Neill said. “We’re done.”

He shot a look at the three of them before heading into the room, stopping to talk to Josephine for a second before smiling and walking into the room, Woolsey on his heels. 

Rodney walked over and smiled, leaning in to kiss Josephine’s cheek again. “Congratulations by the way, I heard it was a landslide.”

“Thank you honey, it was, too bad my son wasn’t able to be there,” she said shooting a glare over his shoulder. 

“He wouldn’t have anyway, not while he was active military,” he said tapping the side of his nose. 

“Get you,” she said, smacking him on the arm and moving to talk to Sheppard.

Rodney left them where they were, in search of his own parents, stopping and talking to people as they talked to him. He had been young when he went to college, and he had learned how to kiss ass for grant money quickly out of necessity. He had never liked the game, never liked the half compliments and backstabbing ass kissing that came with the political side of things. He preferred to be honest, so people knew where they stood with him and he respected those who gave him the same courtesy. He could see Coolidge and the rest of the IOA glaring at him, and he smiled, not one bit sorry about winning that game. 

“Hey kid,” he heard and he turned, grinning at his Papa, taking the offered drink.

“Thanks,” he said taking a sip. “I could have used this an hour ago,” he muttered. 

“So, what was that all about?” Frank asked, eyes flicking towards the IOA group. His Dad had always been quiet, but never stupid. He saw the world for what it was, and it was a talent Rodney had always envied. While he and Jean had both gotten their parents brains, Jean had gotten a lot more of their parents’ skill in political panhandling than he had. And she had gotten their patience. 

“They want me and Sheppard gone,” he admitted, keeping his voice low. “They don’t like they can’t control us easily, and I think after tonight Woolsey might be on the chopping block as well.”

“Do you like him?”

“Woosley? Yeah, he’s good, always has our backs and listens to us. You’d like him, doesn’t drag things out,” Rodney explained. “Says what he needs to say and nothing more.”

Frank nodded, looking down at his glass before he grinned, crooked just like Rodney’s. “So, space huh?”

Rodney grinned widely. “Oh fuck, you have no idea. Aliens, space ships, time travel, time loops, you name it we’ve dealt with it. I’ve been to alternate realties, I’ve met other versions of myself. We found a device last week that we think might be able to grow back limbs. If you’ve seen it in a scifi book, it’s probably happened.”

Frank watched him and Rodney wondered what his father was seeing and thinking. It had been harder when he had been a kid, so much like his mother it made connecting with his much quieter father more difficult. As Rodney got older they managed, bonding over sci-fi and astronomy and had settled into a good friendship, and he was glad for it. 

“Space ships?”

Rodney nodded. “Before you, Maman and Aunt Fifi leave, I’ll get John to take us up in one, you’ve always wanted to go to space right?

“Shit kid,” Frank said suddenly, stepping forward and gripping his arm. “You safe out there?”

Rodney was silent for a moment before he shook his head, going for honesty. “No, there’s been some really close calls, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s interesting, it’s exciting and I feel like I spent my whole life searching for something like this. I love living on Atlantis, I love my friends there, I love my life there.”

Frank was watching him, eyes searching before he nodded. “Bet you’re glad John is there as well.”

Rodney felt his smile soften. “Yeah,” he said rubbing the side of his cheek feeling it heat. “It makes it a little easier knowing he’s got my back and I’ve got his. He finally got me to shoot you know, I’m not so bad with a P90 these days.”

Franks eyes darkened. “I never wanted you to have to shoot.”

Rodney sighed. “Papa,” he said, before he shrugged. “The things we fight, the people we fight? It’s not like it is here, they’re dangerous. The Wraith literally suck the life out of people. People are fighting to survive and we’ve made a lot of mistakes in the Pegasus galaxy, but the Wraith are almost gone, and I know we can do more good there. As soon as we get back.”

Frank was quiet after that, but he nodded and took another sip of his drink. “Just visit more yeah? Your Maman is worried sick, especially after not hearing from you for a whole year.”

Rodney heard the unspoken words. His father had been worried as well. Rodney hadn’t been lying, his parents loved him and Jeannie more than anything else. His Father had never been as good at expressing it as his Maman had, but Rodney had never doubted his feelings.

“I will, I don’t think Aunt Fifi is going to let Sheppard get away with such long times between emails or calls anymore.”

Frank snorted. “No, I think between the two of them you’ll be seeing more of us.”

“Who will be?” Marguerite asked, coming up and standing next to her husband, watching Rodney with flinty eyes. 

“Me and Sheppard,” Rodney said, jerking a thumb towards the rest of the room, assuming Sheppard and his mother were there somewhere. 

“You better be you little shit,” Marguerite said fondly, her words and tone at odds with each other.

“I’m fine, like I was telling Papa,” Rodney said, taking another sip of his drink. 

Marguerite stepped forward, both hands on his cheeks and titled his head side to side, taking her time to look at him before letting out a puff of air. “You look healthier.”

“Blood pressure, cholesterol are all down, my hypoglycemia is well managed, I’m not prediabetic anymore, I’m fitter and stronger than I was and I’m sleeping more,” he admitted. “Between Teyla, Ronon, Carson and Sheppard I’m well taken care of.”

“I met Teyla just now, she was telling me the most interesting story about how she gave birth to her son. Oh, Frank you’ll love this,” she said hitting her husband’s chest with the back of her hand before she began to retell it, her hands flying around just as much as Rodney’s did. 

Rodney finally managed to get away from his parents with a promise to talk to them before the night ended and walked right into a group huddle of his scientists and a few marines.

“You guys doing okay?” he asked, still nursing the drink his Papa had given him. 

He could see them casting nervous looks at him, and behind him. He turned, spotting Sheppard laughing with his mother. 

“You guys come back online yet?” he asked when he turned back around. 

“I mean, you told us and showed us the family photo of all of you at the lake,” Simpson said before she trailed off. “But holy shit, if I ever needed to imagine what the Colonel looked like as a woman, I now have a pretty good frame of reference.”

Rodney hummed. “Yeah, the only thing he got from his Dad was the hair,” he said waving a hand over the top of his head. “And an inability to functionally express himself emotionally.”

“The Colonels been your best friend since you were a kid right?” Cadman asked suddenly.

Rodney nodded. “There’s a photo of us at his first birthday, I was about six months old.”

“And your families are close?”

“Yeah, Aunt Fifi is technically Jeannie’s Godmother.”

“And you’re close with your family.”

“Yes, what’s your point Cadman?”

“You still came to Atlantis not knowing if you were going to get back?”

Rodney was aware that everyone’s eyes shot to him suddenly, and not just the group in the circle.

“Yeah,” he said simply. “This whole place, this is a dream come true for me. It wasn’t just Sheppard that I was going to be leaving. Jeannie, my parents, our families. I had a lot to lose coming here but it was still the right choice for me.”

“And you didn’t ever question?” Carson asked softly. 

“Every damn day, Elizabeth was the only one who knew how worried I was about it. Of course, my feelings changed a little bit once Sheppard stumbled onto the program.”

Sheppard appeared out of the crowd and stood next to Rodney, clearly having been eavesdropping. “I wouldn’t have come if McKay wasn’t going.” 

“That’s because you lack vision,” Rodney shot back.

“Nah, I just knew you’d find a way back and it made it easier to decide. You’re a mama’s boy.”

“You flipped a coin.”

“I had to flip it a couple times to make it fit the right decision.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Sheppard grinned and bumped their shoulders together. “Nah, I just know you.”


	9. Chapter 9

The party slowly wound down, ending just before midnight. Rodney had been surprised there were planned exits as well, a well-choreographed dance that finally ended until it was just the Atlantis expedition left standing around, all of them looking as exhausted as Rodney felt. He whistled to get everyone’s attention, Sheppard by his side.

“Thank you,” he said, voice sincere and he could see more than a couple looks of surprise at that. “We didn’t fuck up, no one was insulted and no one had any problems. You guys did good.”

Rodney could be nice and sincere, when he wanted to be.

“Now who needs to stand with medical staff? Pod Person,” Zelenka said around a yawn.

Rodney made a face. “Fuck you,” he said but smiled nonetheless. “Remember, we all have tomorrow off so if I see anyone, or anyone calls me on the radio, or anyone asks me a stupid question when I’m getting food, I will throw you off the side of a tower.”

He was met with chuckles and he made shooing motions with his hands. “Now fuck off.”

The room dispersed until it was just his team standing in the middle. 

“How are you two?” Sheppard asked.

Ronon growled and pulled off the bowtie around his neck and threw it on the ground. “This is dumb.” 

Teyla kicked off her shoes and let out a sound of bliss as she sunk flat footed to the ground. “I was unaware women of Earth wore torture devices on their feet.”

“I’m not touching that one,” Rodney said to Teyla before looking at Ronon. “They are, but thanks for not ripping it off before now.”

“Mama liked both of you,” Sheppard piped up. “I think Aunt Margie did as well.”

“Maman was really impressed that you managed not to kill us,” Rodney said to Teyla. “Mostly me, which is really just rude if you think about it. Sheppard is just as bad as I am sometimes.”

“I am not!”

“Yes you are! Just because you think laconic is an art and try to be the Da Vinci of it doesn’t meant that you’re not just as bad as I am.”

Sheppard wrinkled his nose. “I’ not that bad.”

“Oh yes you are, you’re the human equivalent of text speak. Cutting out unnecessary words and vowels to make things shorter.”

“Nope.”

“Oh my god, now you’re just being pedantic.”

Sheppard hummed. 

Rodney glared at him until Sheppard grinned. “You understand me just fine.”

“Only because I knew you before you knew words.”

Rodney became aware of Teyla and Ronon looking at him with similar expressions of amusement. “What?” he asked, patting over his face. “I thought I got all the wing sauce.”

“It’s fine Rodney,” Teyla said bending over to grab her shoes. “I am merely glad to see that once again, through thick and thin, you two have not changed.”

“You’re irritating,” Ronon clarified. 

Teyla shot Ronon a look. “I do not believe that is what I said.”

“It’s what you meant.”

“I say what I mean.”

“Not always.”

Rodney snorted. “I’m glad to see you two haven’t changed either.”

Teyla rolled her eyes and stepped closer, leaning in to press her forehead against his. “Perhaps none of us are so easily changed. Now, I do believe you two have a meeting with your parents.”

Rodney winced. “Can I have a prostate exam instead?” 

Ronon clapped him on the shoulder before pulling him into a back-slapping hug. Really, Rodney had no one but himself to blame for the increased hugging Ronon had started since his brush with ascension death. Still, he returned it, forever grateful for his team. 

Sheppard stepped forward after he said his goodbyes, clapping Rodney on the shoulder as well. 

“C’mon McKay, it won’t be so bad. They’re glad to see us.”

* * *

It was that bad. 

Rodney wondered if he had actually forgotten what it was like when his Maman and his Aunt tag teamed them over something they had done, or if he had blocked it out in some sort of stress safety measure. The meeting room his Aunt had commandeered was nothing more than an auxiliary room that they had never found a use for. It was too small, and Rodney was sure it was even smaller as both he and Sheppard were informed, in no uncertain terms, how worried they had made them. He hadn’t been expecting a rehash of the last five years, honestly, and he had stopped arguing half way through the first year. Instead, he just crossed his arms, knowing this was more for their parents than for them at this point.

Eventually they wound down both of them yelling at each other more than them by the end, clearly needing to get the stress out. Rodney had finally undone his suit jacket, his hands shoved in his pockets as he waited for them to finish.

“We’re fine,” he said once they finally fell silent. “We’re both here, we’re safe, maybe a little bit more scarred, but we’re fine. And that’s the important thing, right?”

Marguerite stepped forward and pressed her hands against his cheeks again. “You are supposed to be safe in a lab.”

“I never worked in safe labs,” he replied, pulling her into a hug, pressing his face against her hair. He had missed her, it had been a while since he had seen his parents in person. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he knew it was his Papa, and after a second, he pulled away from his Maman and hugged his Papa again, a proper hug. 

“Shit kid, when Marg told me what you’d gone through,” Frank said, more worried than Rodney had ever thought possible. “I’m proud of you but shit.”

Rodney smiled at both of them, well aware Sheppard was going through his own moment with his mother. “Sheppard wouldn’t let anything happen to me and I won’t let anything happen to him. We’re fine.”

“It almost wasn’t,” Marguerite said stubbornly. 

“And I almost died eating an orange slice when I was a baby. Almost died when I got stung by a bee. I’m not going out there looking for danger, but it’s part of life, and I’m really good at what I do,” he said, hoping they could understand. “And I want to keep doing it.”

“It’s another galaxy!” 

“And I’ve been there for five years! We have space ships, we can come back through the worm hole, it’s no more of a goodbye than if I get on a plane and go around the world.”

“If something happens –”

“If something happens then it happens. I could stay here and get hit by a truck. I used to think I needed to stay inside and be safe all the time but I was miserable working on theoretical only. I get to work on real life practical applications of the work I love and it makes me really fucking happy.”

Marguerite narrowed her eyes at him but didn’t comment. “I’m worried.”

“You’re always worried. Jeannie lives in Vancouver and is a part time math teacher at the local community college and you worry about her.”

Marguerite crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him, the same pugnacious look he had seen on Jeannie’s face, and was sure he had sported as well. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared evenly back. He wasn’t ten years old anymore.

“What exactly, are you going to do?” he asked blandly. “Order me home?”

For a second, his Maman looked like she wanted to do just that before she dropped her arms back down and dropped her face into her hands. He glanced at his Papa who was looking worried, and the fact that Rodney could see the worry worried him. He stepped forward and wrapped her back into a hug. 

“I’m not quitting, but I’ll try and make it back home more okay?” he said softly. “And you can both come and visit as well! It’s mostly safe. And I’ll come and spend a week with you before we go back okay? Jeannie and her family as well.” 

“We should go up to Campobello Island for a weekend, all of us,” Josephine said all of a sudden, dragging Sheppard over to their group, their whispered conversation done or on hold for the time being. “Lord knows I need to get my two dumbasses to talk to each other again.”

“Dave doesn’t know…” Sheppard trailed off at the look his mother gave him.

“Well I’ll be fixin’ that as soon as I get back to DC.”

When Sheppard didn’t put up anymore fight, she turned towards Marguerite. “We figure out a date, family vacation and we can all have a nice time before these two have to go back.”

Marguerite looked thoughtful and like she wanted to fight the idea of them going back again, but eventually she nodded her head, albeit not happily. Rodney knew it wasn’t the final argument between them. She might not officially make him come home, but he had a couple guilt trip trips in his future he knew. Josephine nodded her head, and Frank just rolled his eyes, hiding a smile, beyond used to dealing with the two of them.

“Now, you two knockin’ boots again or no?”

“Ma!”

Sheppard blushed and Rodney could feel his own cheeks heat. “Technically,” he started slowly, “you’re not supposed to ask that.”

Josephine gave him a withering look. “You ain’t so old to not get a belt around the ass.”

Rodney shrugged. “I’m not wrong. You haven’t changed the laws.”

“I ain’t able to change the laws that quickly, even if I want too,” Josephine replied, obviously upset by the fact.

“Yeah Ma, we are,” John said suddenly, reaching out to take Rodney’s hand. “Since about the third day we stepped through the gate to Atlantis.”

“And you didn’t tell us?” Marguerite asked sharply. 

“Honey,” Frank interrupted. “How in the hell would they have explained that they were?”

Marguerite opened her mouth and then shut it, conceding the point. Rodney shot his dad a thankful look and he just shrugged. 

“Look,” Rodney said rubbing a hand over his face, the long day slowly starting to get to him. “We want to get married, and we will, but John can’t lose his command over this and even though people know about you,” he said waving his free hand towards Josephine, “there’s a lot of people who don’t like him and would bring him up on court martial over it. So, we’re going to keep this a secret until its legal.”

“No one knows?” Josephine asked, sounding horrified.

“Oh, the whole fucking base knows, and I bet a good amount of the SGC as well,” Rodney said with a snort. “None of them will say anything though, no one has asked us, and we won’t tell anyone, and anything other than that is hearsay against both of us and right now we’re shitting gold. This whole IOA bid was because they can’t remove us, not right now, and it backfired.”

Silence followed as the three parents took this in, all of them settling on looks of irritated acceptance. 

“Y’all got rings?” Josephine asked, hands on hips.

Rodney nodded and dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out the ring he kept with him all the time, John pulling his dog tags out and showing the ring hanging with his tags.

“We got them made by a friend of ours back in Pegasus,” Sheppard explained. 

“Good, let’s do this then,” Josephine said suddenly, hands on her hips.

“What?” Rodney said the same time as Sheppard.

“You heard me, no doubt you two have some idea of paperwork and a party, but that ain’t good enough. I wanna see my boy get married and since we all here, let’s do it now.”

“You’re not ordained Mama,” Sheppard said, looking like he was about to flee the room. Rodney gripped his hand tighter, just in case. 

“And this sure as shit ain’t legal, but its good enough for now.”

Marguerite nodded her head. “C’mon.”

Rodney glanced at Sheppard who was looking at him wide eyed and he sighed. “We want our friends to be here, and a lot of them are back in Pegasus, or in Colorado, or asleep right now. I know you want to see it, but we promise we’ll wait and you can all be there okay?”

Marguerite and Josephine crossed their arms in tandem, glaring at both of them but Rodney looked back without flinching. He could feel how tight Sheppard was holding his hand. 

“No,” he said again, pushing his ring back into his pocket and detangling his hand so he could tuck Sheppard’s tags back under his shirt. “We wanna do this right, not in some back room of a city, but where people can see it.”

“I don’t want people to think my changing the law is due to Johnny and not because it’s the right thing,” Josephine said stubbornly.

“We work on the most classified base in human history, in another galaxy, this marriage won’t go public until the program goes public. Most people don’t even realize either of you two have us as kids anyway,” Rodney pointed out reasonably. 

“Ma,” Sheppard said softly. “We’ve been down this road before, we had the big one the last time I got married with all the people we had to invite. I just want it to be friends and family this time okay?”

Josephine sniffed but didn’t say anything else. 

“Jeannie wouldn’t talk to me if I married Sheppard without her there anyway. And besides, Dave needs to walk him down the aisle.”

“Why am I walking down the aisle”?

“Well you didn’t at your last wedding so now it’s your turn. Oooohh, I wonder if Nancy would officiate it.”

“That would be weird.”

“No, it’d be great. She knows me, she likes both of us, she got ordained when we got drunk during one of your deployments, and she’s not one for big speeches. We don’t have to worry about who we would pick to ordain it since she’s got a connection to both of us. And, she’s Director of Homeland Security so it wouldn’t be hard getting her clearance to come onto Atlantis. I mean it’s perfect!” 

Sheppard shook his head. “You don’t think it’s a little weird my ex-wife would be marrying me.”

“Nope.”

“It’s weird.”

“Think of it as a new chapter in your life, closing old doors and opening new possibilities.”

“Still weird.”

“It’s happening, look even Aunt Fifi agrees with me,” he said, pointing to Josephine who was nodding her head with a smirk. 

“It’s a bit weird,” Frank said.

“ _Thank you_.”

“Weird that you don’t see the benefits.”

Sheppard glowered at them as they all broke out into laughter. 

“I’m still not walking down the aisle.”


	10. Chapter 10

“It has been a long day,” Rodney announced as he stepped into thei-John’s room. 

Shrugging off off his jacket he dropped it over a chair, working at the bowtie and adding it to the pile. He felt hands at his back as John undid the button holding the cummerbund and he felt like a vice around his waist was gone. Taking a deep breath, he undid the cufflinks and dropped them onto the table, kicking his shoes off. Standing in his pants, socks and shirt he felt like he could actually breathe. 

Taking another deep breath, he turned, letting it out in a whoosh when he saw John staring at him. “Yes?”

“Nothin,” John said starting to work on his own uniform.

“Tell me,” Rodney said stepping forward and catching John’s wrists, stilling them so he could take over. 

“I like this.”

“Like what?” he asked as he helped John slip out of his jacket and folded it with a lot more care than he had done his own. 

“Like coming back to the same place as you, it’s like coming home at the end of the day,” John admitted, standing still as Rodney worked to get the bowtie undone, sliding it out carefully before working on the cufflinks. Those went onto the table when he was done, followed by the cummerbund. 

Rodney made a noise as he started to work on John’s shirt. “I like it as well,” he admitted, eyes focused on what his fingers were doing. 

“You should move in,” John started after a moment, catching Rodney’s wrists to still his hands, making him look up.

Meeting John’s gaze, he saw nothing but openness and love, and he found himself nodding before his mind even thought about it. “Okay.”

John grinned, wide and leaned in to kiss him softly. “I didn’t even ask.”

“You told,” Rodney replied, moving back to keep undoing John’s buttons.

He stopped near the bottom, fingers tugging the shirt out carefully so he could finish unbuttoning. Because he could, he ran his hands up over John’s chest, over his shirt before pushing his dress shirt off, folding it and laying it across the jacket. 

“Not throwing it on the floor?” John asked, not moving as Rodney slipped his belt out of his pant loops.

“Nah,” he said shaking his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I have some down and dirty fantasies about debauching you like you’ve never been debauched while wearing your fancy pants uniform, but I also know you have too much respect for the uniform to let me do it.”

“Fantasies huh?” John asked, smiling happily as he toed off his shoes carefully. 

“Oh yes, many and varied and involving a lot of positions I don’t think you have the flexibility for anymore.”

“Who says that?” John asked, eyes following Rodney as he kneeled and helped John out of his pants. 

“Your hips say that every morning,” he said, standing and adding the pants to the pile. 

John made a noise, but didn’t disagree. He felt arms wrap around his waist and a kiss pressed against his shoulder through his shirt and he smiled, patting the hands resting on his stomach.

“Can I help you?” he asked, turning within Johns embrace, tilting his head up the scant inches needed so he could look him in the eye. 

“I’m going to tell everyone.”

“Tell them what?”

“That you have a heart.”

Rodney scowled. “And ruin five years of training?”

“Tell the world, the Tin Man has his heart!”

“Too bad you haven’t found your brain.”

John rolled his eyes. “Not the first time I’ve heard that.”

“Your own fault for getting stuck with Scarecrow as a call sign.”

“I can’t help what my hair does.”

“Mm, I know,” Rodney said looking at the still mostly slicked down hair. He reached up, flicking the first of the cowlicks that was beginning to break through the liquid duct tape gel. “Alfalfa.”

John rolled his eyes again and tugged Rodney’s shirt out of his pants, hands smoothing up and down his back. “Don’t be mean.”

“Just reminding you that this Tin Man has no heart,” Rodney intoned mock seriously, both hands coming up to push at Johns chest so he took a couple steps back. “He’s got a dick though.”

His eyes trailed up and down John’s, taking in the undershirt, briefs and socks and it should look ridiculous, but mostly Rodney found himself jealous of the bare legs. John caught his look and smirked, taking a second to pull off his socks before talking the couple steps back to the bed and dropping down on it, leaning back against his elbows. The white undershirt and dark briefs made John look like something out of his fantasies, and considering how long Rodney had known him, he had many, with John as the star. Thirteen had been a really weird year for their friendship. 

“Well that’s just unfair,” he said as he tugged his shirt out and finished undoing the buttons so he could drop it to the floor not giving a shit about wrinkles.

“What is?” John asked, shifting back so he was more on the bed, one knee bending and dropping to the side, bringing attention to his groin. 

“You.”

“I’m unfair.”

“Yes, you’re unfair.”

“I think I’m being fair.”

Rodney scowled as he pulled off his socks and got to work on his pants as he walked over to where John was waiting on the bed, smirk firmly in place and watching avidly. He managed to get his belt out before he reached the bed and dropped it to the side, not bothering with his pants in favor of crawling between those inviting thighs so he could kiss John. 

John, the dick, didn’t move, just opened his mouth and tilted his head so Rodney could slide his tongue into his mouth, kissing him deeply. It was an awkward position, hunched over John, balancing on his knees and using core muscles that still didn’t get as much use as his team thought they should. He could feel an ache in his back, his pants pulling tighter across his thighs, the waist band digging in uncomfortably, and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“You look like really expensive gay porn,” Rodney said pulling back from the kiss finally, satisfied when he saw the flush high on John’s cheeks.

“Expensive huh?”

“Mmhmm, none of the free stuff that leaves you feeling vaguely guilty about exploitation. The expensive stuff, all class and extra sass,” Rodney explained, sitting back on his heels so he could finish undoing his pants and zipper. He stood up for a second so he could kick his pants off, his under shirt following. 

“A lotta ass as well.” John sat up and reached around him, hands gripping his aforementioned body part and squeezing.

Rodney smiled and slid a hand into the hair at the back of Johns neck, ignoring the sticky feeling from the epoxy hair gel in favor of tilting his head back so they could kiss again. Rodney sometimes hated the fact that John was just a little taller than him, but in this moment, he and his back appreciated it. It allowed him to kiss John slowly, taking his time to relearn familiar contours, to press in close and just enjoy everything. Taking a moment to enjoy the finer things in life was a rarity for them, and John really was the finest thing. 

Between them, they managed to get John’s shirt off, kissing the whole time, and annoyed when he had to stop for the second to pull it over John’s head and dropped it to the side. 

“Not going to treat that well?” John murmured against his lips. 

“That’s a bog-standard undershirt, I’ll buy you some new one,” he said. “I might get fancy and get you a three for five pack.”

“People will think I’m a gold digger if you keep treating me so good,” John replied, dropping onto his back and dragging Rodney down on top of him, kissing him again. 

Rodney shifted, getting situated between Johns legs, settling in for a nice long make out session. He wasn’t in any rush, and despite the long day, he didn’t feel the need to go to sleep. He wanted to spend more time with John, locked in this little moment they were able to carve out for themselves. 

“If you think that’s fancy wait until I buy you a six pack of those striped boxers you love,” he muttered, shivering a little bit when he felt long fingers stroke the back of his neck. 

“I think I missed my calling as a sugar baby.”

Rodney snorted, laughing against Johns mouth. “I can call you baby if you want.”

“John works just fine.”

Rodney hummed and dipped his head down to start the kiss again, losing himself in the press of their lips, the slick slide of tongues and the feeling of John pressed up against him. There was no urgency to the kiss, just a slow building need that would take them wherever they wanted to go. Rodney felt John’s hand start to slide over his shoulders and he pushed up onto one arm, his hand sliding behind John’s neck to tilt his head, keeping the angle of the kiss easy.

The hands on his back began to slide up and down his back in long sweeping strokes, starting at his neck and ending at his waist, before they finally began to dip down, large hands gripping his ass and squeezing again. He could feel Johns erection pressed against his own, a barrier of briefs between them.

“Naked,” he said, although it came out garbled as he didn’t feel the need to stop the kiss, but John got the picture.

He felt the hands begin to push his underwear down and he worked with John to get his off as well until it was nothing but a slick slide of flesh between them. He felt Johns legs wrap around him, heels digging into his ass as he began to grind down in time with the kisses. It felt good, a slow building heat that was prickling over his skin that he didn’t feel the need to chase, just let it come to him. 

John’s hands went back to their sweeping motion, no clothing to block his way anymore. Rodney felt the fingers dancing down his spine, fingers dipping between his cheeks and he matched the motions, soft kisses when the hands were up his back, pushing his tongue back into Johns mouth when the fingers pressed between his cheeks. 

John had never been a slow learner, one hand flinging out to the side to fumble for the lube they had never bothered put away since the Johnny Cash experiment. Rodney was glad his poster had been moved across the room, still watching but Rodney couldn’t see it. Outta sight outta mind was a good motto.

He heard the click of the lid and then fingers were sliding between his cheeks, wet this time. It didn’t take long for the first one to slowly push into him and he let out a soft groan, pushing back only to grind forward not wanting to lose either sensation. 

“Gimme some,” he muttered, one hand moving out to search for the lube, hearing the indignant noise John made.

“I’m fucking you,” he said, sliding the single finger deeper. 

“So fuck me, doesn’t meant I can’t finger you while you do.”

He felt John shudder at the words, his finger pushed all the way in suddenly. Rodney grunted but didn’t fight. For all he teased John, he enjoyed being fucked just as much. He managed to find the lube, slicking up his own fingers and trailing a hand down so he could press a finger into John, feeling him open up easily. It was fun, mimicking everything John did as they continued to kiss. When he felt John’s finger slide out he slid his out, only to push it back in when John did. 

John wrapped an arm around his neck to keep him close in the kiss and slowly slid a second finger into him. Rodney took a second to appreciate the sensation, groaning low and deep into John’s mouth, clenching down around the intrusion. John kept his fingers rocking in and out in small motions, slowly letting Rodney adjust to it and he stayed where he was, not moving and just enjoying as his body slowly relaxed more. 

“You’re tight,” John pulled back from the kiss long enough to comment before diving back in. 

Rodney didn’t bother replying, it had been awhile since John had had the wherewithal to actually go through with fucking Rodney. He was impressed at his self-restraint and Rodney had always believed in rewarding good behavior. Shifting so he was leaning more on the arm by Johns head, he slowly slid a second finger into John, not as gently, knowing he could take it. He twisted his fingers and crooked them, trying to focus on their bodies in relative position and managed to find John’s prostate, feeling John clench down and moan into his mouth. He felt the legs tighten around his waist and he smirked. 

Rodney had never played fair a day in his life. Especially when he would win either way. 

He kept his fingers where they were, tucked up as deep inside of John as he could manage from his angle, pressed against the spot even as John’s fingers began to move inside of him. He groaned again, pushing back against them, feeling the sparks dance along his spine, and every time he ground back down against John, it pushed his fingers against his prostate, earning him another shuddering groan. 

It was a feedback loop that neither of them wanted to stop.

Rodney lost himself in the slide of their bodies, the taste of John against his tongue and the dual sensations.

“Rodney fuck,” John finally moaned, arching his back and grinding his ass as best as he could down against Rodney’s fingers, his own slipping out of Rodney in order to wrap both arms around his neck. “More.”

“Thought you were going to fuck me,” he teased even as he slid his fingers out so he could press a third one in, his wrist cramping from the angle and part of him did miss the fingers in him.

“You fucker,” John replied, grinding back as best as he could, trapped between the bed and Rodney’s body. “You know..fuck…exactly what you’re doing.” 

“As a military man you should know something about having the high ground,” he said pushing his fingers in as deep as they could go and ground down.

John’s didn’t reply, just arched his back to grind against the fingers, head digging into where Rodney’s hand was still cupping the back of his neck. He pulled back enough so he could see the flush spread across John’s face and down his neck, his mouth parted in a silent moan. 

He began to moved his fingers in and out of John slowly, taking his time to work him open, enjoying watching the flush spread down, enjoyed feeling his thighs tighten around his waist and heels dig into his ass urging him on. 

“Rodney, c’mon,” John moaned after some time, clearly worked up and wanting more and Rodney wasn’t far behind. 

Pulling his fingers out, he grabbed for the lube, pulling back just enough from the tight press of their bodies so he could slick himself up and slide into John in one long smooth motion. John moaned loudly as he slid in, his back arching in time as Rodney slid inside of him until he was fully seated. John let out a whimper and dropped to the bed, shuddering and clenching around him.

“John,” he said softly, and the other man opened his eyes, hazel meeting blue.

Rodney scrambled for Johns hands, curling their fingers together and pressing John’s hands to the bed by his head, kneeling up a little bit. He felt knees press into his sides, and heels dig into his ass as he began to move, long slow strokes, pulling all the way out and pressing in, not taking his eyes away from John. 

It was the shit he had always thought belonged in romance books, but it wasn’t the first time they had ended up like this. Slowly working each other up, neither of them in a rush and neither of them wanting to look away first. It wasn’t the best angle, he could get deeper, but he didn’t want to move, and if the tightening fingers with his was any indication John didn’t want him to go either. 

Time seemed to drift as he kept rocking into John, their breath mingling, eyes locked and working together with the ease of practice. Rodney finally shifted, sliding their hands up so he could lower his head and kiss John again, breaking the gaze in favor of the kiss. The angle shifted enough that each stroke brushed against that spot, causing John to clench and moan into the kiss. 

Rodney could feel his orgasm building in his spine, and he broke the kiss, pressing his face against Johns neck and gasping. “Oh holy fuck,” he groaned, feeling John began to shake under him as he kept on moving.

He felt John’s hands gripping his tighter and tighter until it was borderline painful, before suddenly John clenched down around him and arched his back, a loud cry filling the air as he came. He could feel wetness spreading between them and his own orgasm had been building for too long, John clenching down around him, crying out in his ear, it was all enough to send him over the edge, his nerves whiting out with overwhelming pleasure. He cried out himself, John’s name falling from his lips like a prayer. 

Rodney collapsed, not caring that he was probably suffocating John. If they both died now, they died well and really considering what they did on a daily basis, this was a pretty good death. What more could they ask for in the long run? 

His hands were starting to cramp from how tightly he was holding John’s, but he didn’t want to let go, not yet. Wanted to live in this moment as long as he could because as far as he was concerned, it was one of the best moments of his life. John didn’t seem to mind, not if the way he kept his legs wrapped tight around Rodney’s waist, his bony knees digging into his ribs.

“Fuck,” he mumbled finally, words muffled against where his face was still pressed against John’s neck.

He felt his pulse slowly lose its rabbit like quality and he felt like he could raise his head and he did, taking in his partner with a smug smile. John’s mouth was open, trying to get more air, their fingers still clenched together tightly, and it was only when Rodney kissed his jawline softly that he opened his eyes. For a second, he tried to tug his hands away, roll of off John, but the negative huff and the tightening of fingers and legs kept him where he was. 

Point taken. 

Instead, he leaned in and kissed him again, soft kisses, loving kisses. Rodney was more than gone on this man. Maybe the tin man had a heart for one person. 

Finally, eventually, John deigned Rodney allowed to move and he shifted, pulling out of John with a groan. He moved, sliding onto one side, their legs tangled and Rodney ended up with his arm underneath Johns head, the other around his waist, his nose pressed against a stubbly cheek. He didn’t have the energy to talk, didn’t want to think about moving, and didn’t even want to contemplate a shower.

Slowly, both of them got their breath back, their bodies cooling as their pulse rates came back to normal. The sweat on his body prickled, chilling him and he felt goosebumps rise and he ignored them, instead focusing on the warmth where they were pressed together. He felt fingers began to trail over the arm over John’s waist and he ignored them, still drifting along the post-orgasmic bliss highway and he didn’t want to get off anytime soon.

“How come you always have so much energy after fucking fast five times, but slow and low makes you exhausted?”

Rodney smiled at how softly John was speaking, clearly not wanting to break the moment any more than he did. He didn’t reply initially, just staying where he was, knowing it wouldn’t be long until his shoulder began to complain and he wanted to enjoy for the moment. Eventually though, the silence stretched with the unanswered questions and his inability to shut the fuck up took over. 

“It’s the emotions in the slow and low, they’re exhausting.”

John snorted at that and he grinned even wider. With a groan, he deigned to sit up, moving his arm carefully until he could rest on his elbow, John’s head on his forearm. Catching sight of John’s hair, he snorted himself, his thoughts derailing. 

“Oh my god,” he said, pulling up his other arm as he trailed a hand over the top of the clumpy, spikes that had flakes of some sort of white dandruff clinging to them. His hair looked both dry and oily at the same time, and it wasn’t a good look.

“Yeah,” John said seeing where he was looking and grimacing. “It’s like industrial strength gorilla glue gel or something, doesn’t hold up well for a long time.”

Rodney forced himself to touch it, and was amused when pushing at one of the clumps caused it to flatten and stay there. Reaching for another clump he twisted carefully, amused when the strand stayed. “Your hair is like playdough,” he said, beginning to fuck with it, flattening down as much as he could except for two curling horns on either side of his head.

“Devil in the bed though,” he said pulling away finally, catching the indulgent look on John’s face.

He leaned down to kiss him again, a chaste kiss that ended with smiles on both sides.

“We need to shower,” he said, not pulling back too far, lips brushing against his. 

“We need multiple showers,” John agreed, reaching up and running over Rodney’s head. “You used my comb remember.”

Rodney grimaced. “Right. Just as bad?”

“Probably not,” John admitted. “I used a lot.”

“Come on my spiky-haired succubus, let’s go before we offend ourselves.”

“Succubus is a girl,” John said, arching his back into a stretch Rodney leered at before standing up.

“I couldn’t think of a word matching hair that started with I, at least not in any languages I know.”

Rodney sat up all the way, twisting his back a few times to loosen it, knowing he would be paying for the awkward position tomorrow and not caring in the slightest. He had the day off. Two ibuprofen and a pout at John for a massage would fix it.

He scratched at his stomach where John’s come was beginning to dry and forced himself to stand up with a groan.

“We are getting old,” he muttered, his knees creaking. 

John looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he just nodded. “C’mon,” he said pushing at Rodney’s shoulder to force him towards the shower. “Clean and sleep and food in the morning. Coffee in bed. Maybe if we’re lucky we won’t get a radio call until noon.”

“I wasn’t joking about throwing someone over the balcony.”

“Just make sure the cameras don’t catch you, or that its someone we don’t need.”

Rodney just grinned, caught up in looking at the two devil horns that were still in John’s hair, although they still seemed to be losing the fight with gravity, slowly sinking into the black oily mass that had taken up residence on his head. 

“I’m half convinced whatever you used is going to give you superpowers, it can’t be FDA approved.”

“Succubus though?” John asked again. “Not something else? Like stud? Sexy spiky haired stud?”

“Amazing amour? Beautiful boyfriend? Captivating colonel? Dashing dreamboat? Effervescent eyecandy? Fantastic flame? Gorgeous guy? Hunky hero?”

By the time they got to the shower, John was laughing, one hand against the wall to hold himself up. Rodney grinned and crowded John, arms wrapping around him as he thought the shower on and stepped both of them under it, closing his eyes against the sudden spray. 

“Incredible innamorato?”

“How about just John?”

Rodney’s smiled softened. “I can get behind just John.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter and I want to say thank you to everyone who had read and commented. I really appreciated everything you guys have said, and I'm glad you all enjoyed it as well! Seriously, thank you.

A few weeks later Zelenka sent out an urgent message that there was cake in the mess hall and within 20 minutes everyone was crowding through the doors. Rodney had been one of the first to arrive, snagging his piece and almost made a quick getaway only to be stopped by the burliest of John’s marines.

“Yes?” he asked slowly as they blocked his path. “Cake and go, got things to do.”

“Not so fast McKay, we have meeting now,” Zelenka said appearing out of nowhere.

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do, is now.”

“I came here for cake, not for a meeting.”

“Tough, is meeting.”

“This is false pretenses.”

“This is my caring face,” Zelenka replied, his face blank.

Rodney flipped him off, but went and collapsed at a free table, not surprised when John, Ronon and Teyla joined him a little while later.

“Any idea?”

He got three identical shakes of the head and he sighed. Looks like they were all in the dark, they never boded well for them, or his blood pressure. It looked like everyone was showing up, the room crowded in a way he had never seen. Finally, Zelenka called everyone to attention and Rodney glared at him, and he must be slipping. Because all he got was an indulgent smile back.

“Mama CO and Mama CSO sent email,” Zelenka started.

It was only on Atlantis that the President and Prime Minister of two countries would end up with those nicknames Rodney mused. A second later what Zelenka had said clicked and he sat up.

“What?” he said. Or tried to say, he was sure it came out more of screech.

Zelenka smiled. Rodney hated that smile. It was the smile that ended up with a prank war destroying the last of his coffee. Or ended up with him drunk of his ass and crying to Miko and Simpson about how beautiful John was. He had learned to be wary of that smile. 

“Was talking at party, explaining how you told us you knew each other and they said they have many more photos and would send some over, and they did,” he explained. “Sent very cute power point, as thank you for us for dealing with you.”

Rodney knew who had sent the email, and really would it have killed his Maman to not do this. He had no doubt it was Josephine’s idea, but his Maman was the one who had put it together. No doubt with Jeannie’s help. He was going to disown all of them. 

“Let’s watch yes?”

Rodney looked at Sheppard who was watching him with a resigned look in his eyes. Rodney opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Teyla. “You are not leaving.”

“Next time you bring a kid into the world find someone else to catch,” he shot back, without any heat in his words. Teyla smiled at him and squeezed his arm and Rodney looked down at his cake. It had betrayed him.

He saw the lights in the room dimming and he slouched down in his seat, cake plate on his chest and watched the slides. 

The first one, was quite naturally, a photo of them both naked in a bathtub as toddlers, happily splashing each other. The room instantly broke out in awws. 

He felt Sheppard slouch down into the seat next to him, and in the most telling of tells, grabbed his cake and began to eat it. It was also telling that both of them were staying, despite knowing that if they got up and walked out not a single person would stop them. Their people had gone above and beyond during the last few months and if they wanted to look at a bunch of photos of them as kids, well it wasn’t the worst and it was cheaper than the ice cream social Rodney had been thinking about. 

The second photo was of them older, around seven, both looking at his Papa seriously as they worked on a radio Rodney had pulled apart. It wasn’t uncommon for Rodney to have pulled things apart to figure them out, but he was always helped when he put them back together. They had their heads bent together, blonde curls and spiky black hair a stark contrast. 

Ten years old, in front of a Christmas tree both of them wearing matching Star Wars shirts and plain plaid PJ pants, passed out and surrounded by what was left of Santa’s cookies and milk. 

“Stealing food from Santa? Shame on you McKay,” Cadman called out. 

“Colonel Chocolate Chip is to blame for that one,” Rodney replied. 

Thirteen was awkward for both of them, Rodney’s shoulders coming in well before anything else, and John had shot up, looking like cartoon characters next to each other. It was summer, and the two of them were clearly in the middle of messing around with a skateboard and a fire extinguisher. 

Their hormones had been haywire and when John had crashed Rodney had kissed him for the first time, which John hadn’t responded too. It had resulted in Rodney’s first panic attack. He had been sure John wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore. He had been grateful when John had talked him down from it and they had remained friends. They hadn’t talked about that kiss and Rodney was more than glad to pretend it ever happened. 

“How did you two not blow self-up?”

“Why did person take photo not stop.”

“I think Dave took a lot of the later photos,” Sheppard said the same time Rodney replied. “I’m a genius.”

Fifteen and wide eyed in front of a crop duster airplane that one of Rodney’s Uncle’s flew. John was wide eyed and grinning, and Rodney looked vaguely green. It was the first time someone had let John take the wheel when flying and that was all she wrote. His love had been there, but it had been allowed to bloom in that five-minute window. That had been the day John had first kissed Rodney, in his Uncles shitty attic bedroom, both of them still dusty from the flight and filled with manic energy. It had been a good summer, both of them finally on the same page.

Twenty at college, in front of a frat house, John with his hair peroxide blonde and green in a pair of jeans and frat shirt, Rodney looking distinctly unimpressed and wearing a pair of jeans, button down and a waist coat. They were standing close, and both of them didn’t look that happy, John had finally made the decision to join the Air Force after he got his masters, and they had broken up the next day. It had been mutual, Rodney had understood, but it had still hurt. 

“Oh Christ,” Sheppard muttered at the hoots from his marines. 

“I wonder if I could still rock the waist coats,” Rodney mused, trying to focus on the good instead of the bad. 

“I bet you could,” Sheppard said softy. “Especially after five years in Atlantis.”

College graduation, Rodney with his full doctorial regalia in MIT gray and red, complete with that fucking tam hat that made him look like his face was swollen. John in his master’s gown trimmed in golden yellow, ROTC cord around his neck, both of them grinning widely, sunburnt and shit faced. 

“Should’ve gone for the PhD,” Rodney mused. “So, you could look as stupid as I did.”

“The hat really doesn’t sell it,” John replied. “I hate hats.”

Twenty-three and by a lake, John with a regulation haircut and fresh out of basic. Rodney’s hair had darkened and started receding. Nancy had an arm around both of them, but her eyes were all on John and his on hers. It had been one of the first photos of the two of them together, having met on the lake only a week before and had ended up spending all of her time with them. John and Nancy had fallen hard and fast and Rodney didn’t blame them. It had sucked, and had resulted in what John diplomatically liked to call Rodney’s experimental phase. Most people just called him a slut. Both were true in their own ways. 

“Always third wheel McKay?”

“Someone had to take the photo,” Rodney shot back, shrugging his shoulders. It had been a stranger, but Rodney had John now and he wasn’t going to get jealous over a photo of his boyfriends’ ex-wife, no sir he wasn’t. 

“Want the last of my cake?” Sheppard offered and Rodney grabbed it with a huff. Not jealous at all. 

The wedding photo again, all smiles and Rodney could remember the ache that he had felt in his chest, and his friend’s happiness and he never begrudged John that. But he was also immensely glad it had failed. He was also glad that the best man speech hadn’t been included, it wasn’t his best. 

“Why did you two separate?” Teyla asked, keeping her voice slow. “You look happy.”

Sheppard was quite for a moment before he sighed. “She met me and Rodney together, and she fell in love with me because of how I was around Rodney, not around her. And neither of us realized it for a long time, because half the time Rodney was around when I was on leave. It wasn’t until he joined the SGC and couldn’t visit on my leave that we realized the problem.”

John’s 30th, a small party and John’s face bruised from a crash, his arm taped to his chest to protect his collar bone. They were outside, a large telescope standing next to the BBQ that had steaks on it, both of them drinking beers and oblivious to anyone else, even Nancy who was half in the frame and looking sadder than before. They could always get into their own world quicker than anything else, the entire base knew that.

The last slide was a video, and Zelenka didn’t even hesitate before pressing play.

The video focused on the two kids, around six years old, both of them dressed in shorts and shirts that had once been white. They were covered in dirt and each of them was eating ice cream like it was their last meal.

“Is John your best friend Merry?” a voice asked and Merry looked up nodding his head.

“Best friend in the whole wide world!” he said, voice high and excited. “Better than math and all the stars!”

“And you John?” a second voice asked.

“Merry’s the best!” John said simply. 

“You guys going to be friends forever?”

Both of the boys nodded their heads, too focused on the ice creams to say anything else. 

“What about when you’re older?”

“Gonna go to Space!” Merry said throwing his arms to the sky, his ice cream dropping out of his hand and landing on the floor. “Oh,” he said, sounds devastated. “My ice-cream,” he said in a small voice, sniffling.

“Here!” John said, pushing his ice cream towards Merry almost instantly, face worried for his friend. 

“It’s yours!” Merry said still sounding like he was about to cry.

“I don’t want anymore,” John said putting on a brave face but it was obvious he wanted to finish it. 

Merry sniffed again and hugged John. “We share,” he said puffing up and clearly proud of himself for finding a solution, causing a round of aw’s to echo in the room. 

“Clearly this is pod person, McKay never shares food,” someone called out. 

“Oh ha ha,” Rodney muttered, rolling his eyes, but trading a soft smile with John. 

“Space, huh kid?” a third voice asked once the two boys started sharing the ice cream again, each of them taking a lick and handing it back and forth. 

“Yep! Gonna build a rocket ship and get us there!”

“I’m gonna fly it!” John piped up. 

Merry giggled. “Gonna go and be space explorers!”

“Just the two of you?”

“Nope! Davy and Jeano gonna be with us,” Merry said. “They going to help us take care of the ship, make sure we all safe!”

“What if they don’t want to go?” someone else asked, clearly amused at the antics of the two boys who were now breaking apart the cone and comparing the pieces so it was evenly split. 

“Gonna find friends in space then! A big guy! Who can protect us because fighting is bad like Papa said and Aunt Fifi hates it when John ‘n Davy fight so we need someone else to fight but he’ll be our friend as well because Papa said people who have your back are your friends,” Merry kept speaking, talking about the big tall warrior they would be friends with.

“So just the three of you?”

“No that’s silly, then someone will always be alone and that’s not fair!” Merry said. “Right John?”

John nodded. “Princess! Need a Princess to run things! Like Mama!”

Merry nodded and looked down at the last piece of the cone and handed it to John with the solemnity only a five-year-old could manage. “Thank you, John,” he said kissing John on the cheek, prompting another round of aww’s.

Johns smiled and kissed Merry on the cheek back. 

“So John will fly it, Merry is going to build it, you’ll have a warrior at your back and a princess to help you run things?” the first voice asked. 

Merry nodded. “But not any princess! She needs to be able to fight as well because the warrior needs help sometimes! Everyone needs help sometimes even Papa needs help! Its why he’s got friends at work! And why Mama and Aunt Fifi are friends! And Uncle Patty works with people who help him! And I have John! So she needs to fight and help the warrior! They’ll be our best friends!”

“What are their names?”

Merry scrunched up his nose. “Why would I know? We haven’t met them yet,” he said, the derision obvious in his voice, more amusing because of his age. “Don’t be silly Maman, they don’t know our names yet either! But they will and it’ll be so much fun!”

“Oh yeah? Where are you going to go?”

“Moon!” John said loudly. “And the stars! Merry wants to see the stars but I wanna go to the moon like Neil Armstrong!”

“And the planets!” Merry added. “Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto! Gonna fly around them all!”

“And where else?”

John and Merry looked at each other confused. 

“Where else is there Maman?” Merry asked, looking up at the sky. “We can’t go to the sun silly, it’s 5600 degrees Celsius, that’s too hot even with sunscreen and a hat!”

“What about another galaxy?”

Merry looked up with wide eyes. “There’s other galaxies?” he asked, voice suddenly filled with wonder and amazement. “Can we see them?”

“No kid, but maybe when you’re older.”

“We go to another galaxy and we can live there! We can build a fort and have lots of friends there as well and explore and have fun and never go to sleep and eat all the ice cream and John and I will never have be apart!”

John was nodding his head along with Merry as he spoke, faster and faster, bouncing in his seat. 

“Never apart huh?”

“No Aunt Fifi, Johns my best friend, he’s gonna be my best friend forever! We gonna live together and explore the whole galaxy in space together!”

Merry wrapped his arms around John who hugged him back, both of them beaming at the camera.

“What if he’s not around?”

That was obviously the wrong thing to say as both of their faces crumpled and they yelled no together.

“Where John going Maman?” Merry asked, clearly distraught at the idea. John had gone silent, and was just holding tighter onto Merry, glaring at the camera with all the rage a five-year-old could muster.

“You guys might get different jobs.”

“We end up in same place! We can make sure of it!! You can as well! You’re the adult!” Merry said, sounding so sure that his Maman would make it happen.

“You might not,” a different voice said.

“No Dad!” John said sounding defiant. “We going to work same place! Merry’s my best friend in the whole world! Who else would be my best friend if he isn’t?”

“You can make new friends,” someone else said.

“Don’t need new friends, I have Merry,” John said glaring at everyone and holding Merry closer, trying to protect them.

“Aunt Margie, can we go play now?” John asked, clearly wanting this to be done with. “I wanna go down the slide!”

“Swings!” Merry said, voice shrill with excitement, shifting gears.

“Merry go round!” John giggled.

“See saw see saw see saw see saw,” Merry chanted.

The video cut out then and the lights came back up.

“That was so disgustingly adorable, I might puke,” Zelenka said, looking at the screen with wide eyes.

Rodney remembered this, remembered that it was right at the end of their school year and neither of them had made friends because they knew they had had each other. “We were attached at the hip,” he mused and Sheppard nodded his head. “I mean I know _we are_ as well, but shit, I remember this. I didn’t make any friends because no one was as interesting as you were. My parents were worried I wasn’t socializing properly.”

“You’re still not socialized properly,” Cadman said, but her voice held nothing but fondness. 

“Well yeah, but they spent a lot of that summer trying to make us make other friends and it didn’t work. We’d cry if we weren’t together and then if we were we’d freeze anyone else out,” Rodney explained, the memories coming back to him. He rubbed both hands over his face, he knew how he and John were now, and seeing how little it had changed, well it didn’t humble him. But it made him smile. 

“McKay, you spoke really well as a kid,” someone commented.

“Yep,” Sheppard replied. “He didn’t speak till he was two and then it was full sentences.”

“I was an advanced child, I was reading before you.”

“Whatever, I learned to count before you.”

“That doesn’t count! I was like six months old when you learned to count.”

“Some genius you turned out to be,” Sheppard teased, slapping away Rodney’s halfhearted punch. 

Rodney snorted all of a sudden. “Christ,” he said rubbing the back of his head. 

“What?” John asked.

“We’re living in another galaxy with a warrior,” he said pointing at Ronon, “and an Alien princess warrior,” he said moving his finger to point at Teyla, “who are essentially our other two best friends. I clearly could see the future as a child.”

Sheppard was silent before he snorted and nodded in agreement. 

“I do not think I am a Princess,” Teyla said raising one eyebrow.

“Clearly not, you’re a Queen, for kids we had pretty small imaginations,” Rodney said. “Ronon is a warrior so I like to think I was almost correct.”

“Remember the name of the rocket ship we were going to fly?” Sheppard asked suddenly. 

“The Big Bada Boom?”

Sheppard nodded, grinning widely. “I thought Mama was going to smack us both because we spent the whole summer running around yelling that.”

“It was fun to say!”

“I still think it should have been the Boom Stick.”

“Sticks break, we didn’t want the rocket ship to break. Even I knew that at five.”

“It would have been a log.”

“Then it would be the Boom Log and not the Boom Stick, and it couldn’t have been log because that was the name of the raft we built.”

“Good old SS Log.”

“We made it like half a mile down the river before Papa picked us up and made us drag it all the way back.”

“Ruined our adventure!”

“To be fair, that river turned into rapids not much longer after that, we would have died if we had kept going. And we only had a sandwich each, it’s hard to go on an adventure when you starve.”

“You built a log raft?” Lorne cut in. “To go down a river and it floated? At six?”

“McKay did,” John said jerking his head at Rodney. “I think Aunt Marg still has the plans he made for it, done in crayon. Everything measured and marked out perfectly.”

Everyone looked a Rodney who sniffed and pointed at his head. “Genius. I made the plans, John helped me built the things. He was allowed to use a hammer and nails.”

“Because you smashed your fingers every time!”

“We were six!”

“You guys are literally the same,” Cadman said, looking between them. 

“Clearly we came out of the womb perfect,” Rodney said haughtily crossing his arms, but fighting back a smile. He felt John bump their shoulders together and he lost the battle, grinning at his best friend and partner. 

“Why don’t you go by Merry?” Jennifer asked. “I know you hate Meredith now, but you didn’t seem to mind it then.”

“There were eight Meredith’s in my kindergarten class, so I ended up going by Rodney and preferred it so I kept it,” he explained. “Sheppard here was the hold out until Atlantis so thank you all for making him switch that finally.”

“I mostly just found it amusing when we were older, you’re the crankiest person I know and everyone would get really confused when I called you Merry.”

Rodney rolled his eyes, leaning in to kiss Sheppard quickly, before standing up before anyone could comment. DADT might be in name only on Atlantis, but he wasn’t about to give fire to anyone who needed it. Although from what Woolsey had told them the other week, they would need to blow up Earth in order to lose their postings right now. 

He clapped his hands a couple times, getting everyone’s attention. “Alright people, you all have work to do, chop chop,” he said making a shooing motion. “You have all seen how cute we were, lets hang onto those happy memories and not fuck anything up today. Yes?”

There were a few halfhearted grumbled, but the room cleared out and Rodney sat down, watching as John ran a finger over the plate to pick up some stray crumbs before licking them off. He felt his smile soften as he watched his best friend, partner, coworker, teammate and fiancé. 

“What?” John asked when he noticed the disgustingly fond look Rodney was sure on his face.

“Marry me,” Rodney said instead of trying to explain everything he was feeling, it was too large to try and even begin to encompass. Rodney didn’t have the words, he didn’t even think there was enough math to be able to quantify it. It simply was, filling him to the brim and filling him with more joy than he had ever had before. 

John grinned back, wide and happy. “Always.”


End file.
